Electricity sector of New Ingerland

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Electricity sector in New Ingerland
Power transmission towers leading away from an electricity substation
Market regulator Electricity Authority
Generation
Installed capacity 6,400 MW
Total production 56.1 TW⋅h
Generating stations 25 (List)
Distribution and consumption
Electricity coverage 99.92%
Distributing agency Powergrid
Per-captia usage 1,096.69 W

The electricity sector is major component of energy usage in New Ingerland. The national electricity sector is composed of a mixture of hydro, nuclear, renewables, and thermo-fossil power generation; and has a free and open market for the generation and retailing of electricity.

History

Background

New Ingerland's electricity sector has been largely state-owned from it's inception. The generation of electricity was originally a local government matter, with municipalities such as Port Frederick installing electric street lighting as early as 1888. The provision of electricity was gradually transferred from the municipal councils to be managed by the county councils, with the final municipal power station at Chapelover in Beaufortshire being transferred to county control in 1945.

In 1949, the Sims Labour government established the Electricity Commission (often abbreviated to ELCOM), to maintain, operate, and extend the generation and supply of electricity in New Ingerland. From the county councils ELCOM inherited the assets and operation of coal and hydro power stations at Addingmere Dam, Ashbourne, Chapelover, Kingsbury, Marlow, Port Frederick, and Taumata. In addition, existing facilities at Stanhill were adjudged to be too antiquated to warrant further investment, and were decommissioned in stages by 1955. The counties however, maintained control over the local distribution network.

The late 1940s to the early 1970s saw a rapid expansion of electricity generation infrastructure, with new stations constructed at Boyd Gorge, Copeton Dam, Dorroughby Dam, Egerton Dam, Rathbridge, Veness Dam, and Tuncester. The largest project of all was the Panton Hydro-Electric Scheme, which saw three power stations built on the River Panton (Pantonthwaite Dam) and River Hōriwai (Hōriwai I and Hōriwai II). The Panton/Hōriwai hydro projects were controversial, with their construction was marred by protests from locals who believed the schemes would destroy the rivers and harm farmland. However, in spite of a protracted legal dispute causing delays to both schemes, both projects were completed by March 1963.

Going nuclear

Ōruawai Nuclear Power Station

In March 1969, geologists discovered a rich deposit of Uraninite in the Drummond Hills, north-east of Beaconsfield. Investigations of the site soon revealed that the deposit was large enough for commercial extraction and refinement into nuclear fuel. In November 1970, the government announced that it licence the extraction and refinement of the deposits into a fuel for export, and that a small portion of the Uranium extracted from the process would be used for the domestic market for medicine. However within a week, the government announced that it would also commence investigations into the construction of a nuclear power station near the deposits in an effort to develop a domestic nuclear power industry to remove New Ingerland's reliance on the ever diminishing supply of coal and natural gas.

The decision to develop nuclear power in this country caused an uproar amongst left-leaning political groups across New Ingerland. The Labour Party called the plan "irrational", whilst the trade union movement called the embracing if nuclear energy "an invitation to holocaust". However, the plan enjoyed widespread public support, with 65% of the population polled as supporting the development of nuclear energy. The project also had the support of the main opposition National Party, who praised the plan as a "bold and daring exercise in nation-building". Given the incidence of major nuclear accidents was still in the future, this support can be readily understood. Later generations of New Ingerlanders have been sceptical of nuclear power, with outright support sitting below 50% since the early 1980s.

After a rigorous investigation of possible locations by the central government, the only viable site in which the station would be located on the River Veness estuary at Ōruawai near Te Piha. The location provided an ample supply of water for steam generation and the critical cooling liquid needed for safe operation of the reactor. It was also decided that the reactor should be of the Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) type, with a consortium of Ingerish firms awarded the contract to build the reactor in May 1972.

In the wake of the announcement, court cases were launched by nascent radical environmental movement in an attempt to derail the planning process, which the government had launched at once in a fast-tracked form in order to get construction under way within two years. Despite numerous attempts to obstruct the planners, a process which saw environmental groups appeal the planning decision and the process in which it had been undertaken all the way to the Judicial Committee of the Executive Council (Collins v Minister of State for Infrastructure), the judicial system found no fault with the process, and construction of the power station was able to get under way on time in late 1973. The opposition to the power station can be credited with the formation of the Green Party, which contested it's first election in 1975.

Construction of the Ōruawai power station commenced on 13 November 1973 with a ceremonial turning of the first sod by Prime Minister, Jonathan Braddock. Much of the project was constructed with local labour, overseen by Ingerish experts, whose government had agreed to assist New Ingerland develop a nuclear energy sector. In order to take advantage of the technology, facilities for dealing with the entire nuclear fuel cycle had to be constructed near the power station. Between 1972 and 1982 these facilities were built at several locations across southern Deverauxshire. The two most important of these is the Nuclear Research Laboratory, which includes independent facilities for uranium enrichment, fuel production, fuel reprocessing, and has a research reactor for the various projects of the Bureau of Nuclear Science and Research.

The current Ōruawai reactor (known generally as Ōruawai 'A') was connected to the grid on the 14 April 1982. It is expected the reactor will begin the process of decommissioning in late 2020. A second reactor (Ōruawai 'B') has also been approved, and construction commenced in July 2012. The reactor is expected to be completed and brought in to commission by 31 March 2020. The second reactor will also be of a Pressurised Water Reactor.

Corporatisation and deregulation

On 1 January 1994, New Ingerland established a deregulated electricity market. At the same time, the Electricity Commission was dissolved and broken-up in to a number of state-owned companies (crown corporations), who took control of a particular part of the electricity consumption process, be it generation, transmission, or the retail sale of power to consumers. Today, these organisations are:

  • Ardentic Electricity (generation)
  • Arrow Electricity (generation)
  • Australis Electricty (generation)
  • Powergrid (transmission)

A new body, the Electricity Authority, assumed responsibility for the regulation of the electricity sector in New Ingerland.

The sale of electricity to consumers initially passed to three state-owned companies, which were subsequently privatised in the late 1990s. Full deregulation of the electricity retail market occurred on 1 January 2001, and since then a number of new companies have entered the market either selling electricity and gas, or one of these utilities alone.

Future plans

The continued growth of electricity demand, coupled with the reconfiguration of generations types, has led Powergrid to propose numerous improvement works across it's high voltage transmission network. For the first half of the 2020s, there are two major projects Powergrid will need to undertake. These include the need to uprate the Ōruawai-Loxcaster, Loxcaster-Sarum, and Sarum-Te Marua 220 kV transmission lines to 400 kV by December 2020, and the Te Marua-Pantonthwaite-Dairyton 220 kV lines by June 2023. The second major project will be an upgrade of the HVDC systems between Brunswich and Lunen islands to include a second bipole by March 2022, whilst the AONI HVDC system will need a third bipole added no later than December 2025.

In addition to these transmission projects, an significant emphasis has been placed on updating the mix of generation used across the country. For some decades, New Ingerland's electricity sector has been at the higher end of carbon emitters in the world, with 491g/kWh emitted. To alleviate this situation, between 2020-22, New Ingerland will close it's two coal-fired power stations at Rathbridge and Port Bentley, replace it's single nuclear power station at Ōruawai, and invest in a significant number of renewable generation projects using wind, solar, and geothermal sources. It is projected that this will cut New Ingerland's energy emissions intensity down to 39g/kWh, making New Ingerland close to the world leader in the production of carbon-free power generation.

Power stations

Electricty generation by type in 2015

In 2015, New Ingerland's 3.4 million people consumed 56.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. There are presently 25 generating stations in New Ingerland (14 of which are operated by government-owned companies), with the network carrying a nameplate capacity of 6,400 megawatts (MW). The average power per capita usage in New Ingerland in the year ending 31 December 2011 was 1,096.69 Watts.

The leading type of power generation in 2015 was coal-fired thermal generation, with a total generating share of 55.97%. Nuclear power comprised 19.01% of the total generation, followed hydropower and natural gas on 16.22% and 5.09% respectively. The combined renewables of solar, wind, and geothermal made up 3.35%, whilst other sources, such as co-generation, bagasse, or landfill gas made up the remaining 0.36%.

The following is a list of electricity generating stations in New Ingerland. All power stations listed are capable of generating 1 MW or more of electricity. Planned power stations are highlighted in yellow italics, whilst notable decommissioned stations are highlighted in red.

Biomass combustion

To be added...

Fossil fuels

Power station Max. capacity Turbines Type Operational Coordinates
Ashbourne 12 MW 1 Coal steam turbine 1956-1997 tbd
Chapelover 300 MW 6 Coal steam turbine 1932-2010 Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.55785 S, 143.24538 W
Homeleigh 320 MW 2 Gas open cycle 2009-present tbd
Kingsbury 300 MW 6 Gas/Oil steam turbine 1956-2001 Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.19759 S, 142.91598 W
Marlow A 27 MW 4 Gas/Oil steam turbine 1952-1979 Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.41298 S, 143.50695 W
Marlow B 640 MW 4 Gas open cycle 2007-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.41298 S, 143.50695 W
Port Bentley 1,420 MW 4 Coal steam turbine 1969-present tbd
Rathbridge 1,420 MW 4 Coal steam turbine 1967-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.6528 S, 142.2016 W
Tuncester 240 MW 6 Gas/Oil steam turbine 1952-1987 tbd

Geothermal

To be added...

Hydro-electric

Boyd Gorge Power Station
Power station Max. Capacity Turbines Scheme/River Coordinates
Addingmere 4.5 MW 7 tbd tbd
Boyd Gorge Dam 480 MW 4 River Boyd Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.64327 S, 143.53436 W
Braddock Dam 24 MW 1 River Cope Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.5022 S, 143.701 W
Dorroughby Dam 20 MW 5 tbd tbd
Egerton Dam 24 MW 6 tbd tbd
Hōriwai I 960 MW 12 Panton/Hōriwai Scheme Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.95428 S, 142.72588 W
Hōriwai II 340 MW 4 Panton/Hōriwai Scheme Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.9521 S, 142.69755 W
Pantonthwaite Dam 80 MW 4 Panton/Hōriwai Scheme Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.98096 S, 142.75305 W
Stanhill Dam 0.2 MW 2 River Falconer Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.16595 S, 142.841 W
Taumata Dam 4 MW 4 River Taumata Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.02274 S, 142.79586 W
Veness Dam 8 MW 4 River Veness Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.73378 S, 143.17404 W

Nuclear

Power station Max. Capacity Turbines Type Operational Coordinates
Ōruawai A 820 MW 1 PWR 1982-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.73776 S, 143.05055 W
Ōruawai B (Under construction) 3,260 MW 2 EPR From 2020 Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.73886 S, 143.0515 W

Solar

Power station Max. Capacity Type Operational Coordinates
Oakhampton 22 MW Photovoltaic 2015-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.77165 S, 143.0251 W
Seven Oaks 48 MW Photovoltaic 2016-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 49.6434 S, 142.2447 W

Wind

Chigwell Range Wind Farm
Power station Max. Capacity Turbines Type Operational Coordinates
Chigwell Range 82 MW 46
  • 24 × 1.5MW
  • 18 × 2MW
  • 6 × 2.5MW
2009-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.7411 S, 143.4242 W
Skelton Pass tbd tbd
  • tbd
tbd tbd
Wyndham 96 MW 48
  • 48 × 2 MW
2012-present Wikt Globe Bullet.svg 50.2883 S, 143.8583 W

Grid battery storage

The use of grid storage is a relatively new innovation in New Ingerland, with the first battery banks installed in late 2018. As part of their decarbonisation programme, Powergrid have committed to installing a significant number of new battery substations over the coming years, and have teamed-up with a number of international firms to invest in research and development in to new battery technology.

Power station Max. Capacity Storage Units Type Operational Coordinates
Pantonthwaite Power Reserve 100 MW 130 MWh 200 tbd 2018-present tbd

References and notes

Other links