Cogeneration technology set to power urban district energy project in Melbourne

One of GE Energy’s natural gas-fired Jenbacher gas engines will be powering a cogeneration plant that will provide electricity and thermal energy for a major urban revitalisation initiative in Dandenong, Victoria. Built by Cogent Energy, the plant will play a pivotal role in the VicUrban-led Revitalising Central Dandenong (RCD) initiative that is rejuvenating the south-east region of Melbourne.

The collaboration marks GE’s first urban district energy project in Australia. Clarke Energy Australia, GE’s authorised distributor for Jenbacher gas engines in Australia, will supply project owner Cogent Energy with a 2 MW, J612 Jenbacher cogeneration unit for Phase 1 of the new power facility, which could be expanded to 6 MW.

The Jenbacher system was shipped to the Dandenong site in January, with commercial operation set to begin this year. The gas engine is expected to save the equivalent of about 9.900 t of carbon emissions a year, which equals the removal of more than 5500 cars from the road.

The cogeneration plant is set to dramatically reduce the emissions and energy use of the Dandedong Commercial District by reducing its reliance on energy from the grid. The plant will also have the capacity to produce surplus hot water, which Cogent Energy will then sell back to local commercial buildings to provide cooling via building owner-supplied absorption chillers.

“Helping central Dandenong transform itself into a vibrant, 21st-century retail and services district will require a reliable, cleaner, cost-effective supply of energy to meet the growing needs of the area’s business and residential communities,” said Blair Healy, Manager of Cogent Energy. “GE’s Jenbacher technology offers the optimal energy efficiency we required to make this project successful.”

“Australia represents an important growth region for GE as more customers embrace various distributed power applications - including industrial cogeneration - to bring the sources of energy production closer to end users,” said Rafael Santana, CEO and President, Gas Engines for GE Energy.

GE helps customers to generate reliable on-site electricity and heat at or near the point of use through its comprehensive suite of distributed power solutions ranging in size from 119 kW to 100 MW. Its Jenbacher gas engines are designed to run solely on a variety of gases, which results in high levels of generator efficiency, reliability and environmental performance. The fuel flexibility of the engines and other distributed energy technologies also promotes greater regional energy and economic security by enabling countries to use more of their own energy resources to meet their domestic needs.

GE’s involvement in Australia dates back to 1902 when the company installed one of the electric motors in Sydney to open the Pyrmont Bridge over Darling Harbour. In September 2011, GE announced it would supply an integrated solution of on-site power and water filtration equipment to a consortium that is building a water treatment plant on behalf of Australian coal seam gas company QGC. The project, located at QGC’s Kenya site near Chinchilla in Queensland, integrates GE’s Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines for the first time. The units will generate on-site power for the company’s advanced membrane and thermal water treatment technologies that will desalinate water produced during the extraction of coal seam gas.