Worsley Refinery power station

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Worsley Refinery power station is an operating power station of at least 336-megawatts (MW) in Worsley aluminum refinery, Western Australia, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Worsley Refinery power station	Worsley aluminum refinery, Western Australia, Australia	-33.23519, 116.068694 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• CC1, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 5, Unit 6: -33.23519, 116.068694

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	CHP	Start year	Retired year
CC1	Operating	fossil gas: natural gas	120	combined cycle	yes	2009	–
Unit 1, timepoint 1	Retired	coal: unknown	34	subcritical	–	1982	2023
Unit 1, timepoint 2	Operating	fossil gas: natural gas	34	steam turbine	–	2023	–
Unit 2, timepoint 1	Retired	coal: unknown	34	subcritical	–	1982	2024
Unit 2, timepoint 2	Operating	fossil gas: natural gas	34	steam turbine	–	2024	–
Unit 3	Operating	coal: unknown	34	subcritical	–	1982	–
Unit 5	Operating	coal: unknown, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids)	57	CFB	–	2012	–
Unit 6	Operating	coal: unknown, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids)	57	CFB	–	2012	–

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
CC1	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 1, timepoint 1	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 1, timepoint 2	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 2, timepoint 1	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 2, timepoint 2	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 3	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 5	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]
Unit 6	South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd [100%]	South32 Ltd [86.0%]; Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd [10.0%]; small shareholder(s) [4.0%]

Unit-level fuel conversion details:

Unit 1: Converted from coal to fossil gas in 2023.

Unit 2: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2024.

Project-level captive use details

• Captive industry use (heat or power): power
• Captive industry: Aluminum

Background

Worsley Refinery power station is a five-unit coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 216 MW. The plant was completed in 1982 and 2012, and is owned by BHP Billiton. Units 5 and 6 co-fire with biomass.

In 2009, a gas fired Co-generation plant was installed.

In November 2014, a refinancing agreement for Units 5-6 of the Worsley Refinery power station was signed. US$741 million in loans was provided by a consortium of banks that included Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, MUFG Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, National Australia Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Westpac.

Gas conversions

In South32's 2023 Annual Report (published in June 2023), the company reported that the conversion of the first coal-fired unit to gas had begun, but did not specify a timeline for the remaining units' conversions.

In October 2023, reporting announced that the first coal-fired boiler at Worsley refinery's power station had been converted to natural gas, and that the second coal-fired unit would follow suit in 2024. The plant's owner, South32, said that these conversions were part of its larger effort to reduce operational GHG emissions down to zero by 2050.

According to South32's 2024 Sustainable Development Report and the company's June 2024 quarterly report, two coal-fired boilers had been converted to natural gas at the Worsley Alumina Refinery within FY2024, indicating that the conversion of Unit 2 was also complete.

Emissions

A May 2021 analysis by 'Boiling Cold' found that the refinery's coal plant emits two-thirds more greenhouse gases to make a tonne of alumina than a gas-fueled Australian refinery run by Alcoa.

Worsley bauxite mine expansion plans (2022)

In June 2022, South32 submitted a revised proposal to Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for the expansion of their bauxite mine for alumina production, which included the statement that at the time, Worsley Alumina were "completing studies to detail the optimal approach to reduce the use of coal, with a prefeasibility study for conversion of the existing coal-fired boilers to natural gas."

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.