Millmerran power station

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Millmerran power station is an operating power station of at least 880-megawatts (MW) in Millmerran, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Millmerran power station	Millmerran, Queensland, Australia	-27.960696, 151.279301 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2: -27.960696, 151.279301

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	operating	coal: subbituminous	440	supercritical	2002	2051 (planned)
Unit 2	operating	coal: subbituminous	440	supercritical	2003	2051 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Millmerran Power Management Pty Ltd [100%]	China Huaneng Group Co Ltd
Unit 2	Millmerran Power Management Pty Ltd [100%]	China Huaneng Group Co Ltd

Background

The Millmerran power station is an 880 MW coal-fired power station near the town of Millmerran on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. The plant is an air-cooled supercitical design which the company states uses 10% less coal and 90% less water than conventional coal plants.

Intergen states that the Millmerran Operating Company "employs 50 people directly and 150 people indirectly when coal mine employees and other sub-contractors are included." Coal for the power station is sourced from the adjacent Commodore mine. InterGen is owned jointly by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and China Huaneng Group/Guandong Yudean Group.

In June 2015, the Millmerran power station was refinanced to cover existing indebtedness. US$597.51 million in debt was provided by a consortium of banks, and US$597.51 million in equity was provided by InterGen, Marubeni, Tohoku Electric Power, and GE Capital.

In August 2022, Millmerran Power proposed an expansion at its Western Queensland coal mine. They were also seeking to extend the life of the mine until 2056, which could potentially extend the lifetime of the power station. The Queensland Conservation Council called the move "climate madness".

In March 2023, news sources referred to a scheduled 2051 closure date for the power plant.

An update by the Australian Energy Market Operator in May 2023 confirmed that the planned closure date for the power station was still 2051. As of October 2024, the planned closure date remained the same.

Environmental impact

National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) data for 2016-2017 show that Millmerran emitted the most mercury of any power station outside Victoria, with 256.4 kg.

In November 2019 the plant was chosen by the Australia Coal Association's Coal21 fund as the site of a planned integrated carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project. The project would cost an estimated A$150 million.

Carbon Capture Project

In May 2022, the plant was granted AUS$210 million test by the Australian government for a project that will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Millmerran power station and store it underground in the Surat Basin in Queensland.

In February 2023, leaked briefing notes from coal exporter Glencore revealed that the company was lobbying the Australian government to prevent legal challenges to the the carbon capture project. Glencore's subsidiary, Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo), acknowledged in the project's Environmental Impact Statement that nearby groundwater would be contaminated. The project would process 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year at the Millmerran power station and would inject the greenhouse gas into an underground aquifer.

As of May 2023, the process of assessment for the proposed carbon capture project was still underway, with the latest Queensland Government update indicating that the proponent was responding to submissions. According to an update from the government of Australia in 2023, plans to capture and inject carbon dioxide emissions from the Millmerran power station into the ground were set to continue for up to three years.

In March 2024, AgForce, a powerful Queensland farming lobby group, launched legal action in the Federal Court of Australia to block CTSCo's proposal to inject captured CO2 into the Great Artesian Basin. AgForce applied for a judicial review of a February 2022 decision by the federal environment department that the proposal did not need to be assessed under the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Modeling by CTSCo reportedly showed that the pilot injection project would "create a 1.6km-wide ‘plume area’ some 2.3km underground." The Queensland environment department was expected to decide on the proposal by May 2024.

In May 2024, the Queensland District President of the Mining and Energy Union submitted a letter to Parliament in support of the CCS proposal, but environmental approval had not yet been granted. In late May 2024, the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation rejected the Great Artesian Basin CCS project, citing the potential for irreversible impacts on groundwater quality.

Financing History

• 2021 refinancing: ~USD 332.6m in loans from Bank of China, China Bank of Communications, China Everbright Group, China Minsheng Banking, ICBC, State Bank of India (5-year loan)
• 2018 refinancing: ~ USD 463m in loans from Agricultural Bank of China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of China, China Bank of Communications, DBS Bank, ICBC, KEB Hana Bank, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank, Westpac, Woori Bank, China Merchants Bank. Mizuho (3 to 7 year loans)
• 2015 Refinancing: ~USD 597m in loans from Agricultural Bank of China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of China, China Bank of Communications, DBS Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, ICBC, KEB Hana Bank, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank, Westpac, Woori Bank, China Merchants Bank, Mizuho, Investec (3 to 7 year loans)
• 2012 Refinancing: ~USD 454m in loans from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Mizuho, China Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, ICBC Asia, Investec, OCBC Bank, Credit Agricole Group, Mizuho (3-4 year loans)
• 2006 Refinancing: ~USD 780m in loans from KBC Bank, HSBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, West LB, United Overseas Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Agricole, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, SMBC

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.