Electricity sector of New Ingrea

Electricity sector in New Ingrea
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 Ingrea. 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 Ingrea'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 Ingrea. From the county councils ELCOM inherited the assets and operation of coal and hydro power stations at Addingmere Dam, Ashbourne, Chapelover, Kingsbury, Lunenborough, 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 Point. The largest project of all was the Panton Hydro-Electric Scheme, which saw three power stations built on the Panton River (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 Ingrea'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 Ingrea. 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 Ingreans 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 Veness River 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 Ingrea 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 Ingrea 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 Ingrea.

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-Alchester, and Alchester-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 Ingrea'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 Ingrea 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 Ingrea's energy emissions intensity down to 39g/kWh, making New Ingrea close to the world leader in the production of carbon-free power generation.

Power stations

Electricty generation by type in 2015

In 2015, New Ingrea's 3.4 million people consumed 56.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. There are presently 25 generating stations in New Ingrea (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 Ingrea 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 Ingrea. 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	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	50.19759 S, 142.91598 W
Marlow A	27 MW	4	Gas/Oil steam turbine	1952-1979	49.41298 S, 143.50695 W
Marlow B	640 MW	4	Gas open cycle	2007-present	49.41298 S, 143.50695 W
Point Tuncester	1,420 MW	4	Coal steam turbine	1969-present	tbd
Rathbridge	1,420 MW	4	Coal steam turbine	1967-present	49.6528 S, 142.2016 W
Lunenborough	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	49.64327 S, 143.53436 W
Braddock Dam	24 MW	1	River Cope	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	49.95428 S, 142.72588 W
Hōriwai II	340 MW	4	Panton/Hōriwai Scheme	49.9521 S, 142.69755 W
Pantonthwaite Dam	80 MW	4	Panton/Hōriwai Scheme	49.98096 S, 142.75305 W
Stanhill Dam	0.2 MW	2	River Falconer	50.16595 S, 142.841 W
Taumata Dam	4 MW	4	River Taumata	50.02274 S, 142.79586 W
Veness Dam	8 MW	4	Veness River	50.73378 S, 143.17404 W

Nuclear

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

Solar

Power station	Max. Capacity	Type	Operational	Coordinates
Oakhampton	22 MW	Photovoltaic	2015-present	50.77165 S, 143.0251 W
Seven Oaks	48 MW	Photovoltaic	2016-present	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	50.7411 S, 143.4242 W
Skelton Pass	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd
Wyndham	96 MW	48	48 × 2 MW	2012-present	50.2883 S, 143.8583 W

Grid battery storage

The use of grid storage is a relatively new innovation in New Ingrea, 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