Tarong Energy

Tarong Energy was an Australian electricity-generation company owned in full by the Queensland Government. Its business centered on operating a portfolio of large-scale generation assets in Queensland, including the coal-fired Tarong Power Station, the Tarong North Power Station, and the hydroelectric Wivenhoe Power Station. Through these facilities, the company supplied approximately one quarter of Queensland’s electricity during its operating period and was an important participant in the National Electricity Market. The company’s most significant operating base was in the South Burnett region, where Tarong Power Station was a major employer and an important contributor to the local economy. Its generation portfolio combined thermal coal generation with hydroelectric capacity, giving the business a mixed asset base within Queensland’s electricity system. The company was also associated with work on post-combustion carbon-capture technologies intended to reduce the climate impacts of coal-fired electricity generation. Tarong Energy’s independent corporate existence ended as part of a Queensland Government review of the state electricity sector conducted in 2010. The restructuring was intended to reduce costs and rationalize the ownership and management of generation assets. On 1 July 2011, the company’s assets were divided between two other Queensland Government-owned generators, Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy. Tarong Energy subsequently became a subsidiary of Stanwell Corporation rather than continuing as an independent generation company. The brand is therefore principally of historical significance within Queensland’s electricity industry.

Tarong Energy operated as a Queensland electricity-generation company owned entirely by the Queensland Government. Its business was based on the operation of major generating facilities rather than on retail electricity branding. The company’s portfolio included Tarong Power Station and Tarong North Power Station, both coal-related generating assets in Queensland, together with Wivenhoe Power Station, a hydroelectric facility. This combination placed Tarong Energy within the state’s publicly owned generation structure and gave it exposure to both thermal and hydroelectric power production. The company’s assets supplied electricity into Queensland’s interconnected electricity system and the National Electricity Market. At the height of its independent operation, Tarong Energy was reported to account for roughly one quarter of Queensland’s electricity supply. Its scale made it a significant public-sector generator, while its activities at Tarong Power Station gave it particular regional importance. The station was a major employer in the South Burnett region and connected the company’s electricity business with local economic and community interests. Tarong Energy also participated in efforts to address the environmental impacts of coal-fired generation. In particular, the company worked on post-combustion emission-capture technologies. These efforts reflected the policy and technical pressures facing coal generators as governments and industry considered ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions without immediately replacing existing thermal generating infrastructure. The available reference material does not establish that the technology became a commercial product or that it changed the company’s generation mix. A review of Queensland’s electricity sector by the state Treasurer in 2010 led to a major organizational change. The government sought to lower costs and reorganize the ownership of generation assets. Under the resulting restructuring, Tarong Energy’s assets were divided between Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy on 1 July 2011. Tarong Energy ceased to operate as an independent generation company and became a subsidiary of Stanwell Corporation. The change marked the end of its independent corporate role, although the generating assets and associated operations continued within Queensland’s government-owned electricity sector. The source material does not provide a separate founding year, a list of named executives, a standalone website, or details of later commercial activity under the Tarong Energy name.

• 2011

  Generation assets divided between state-owned generators

  [1]Tarong Energyen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 July 2011, Tarong Energy’s assets were split between Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy. Tarong Energy then became a subsidiary of Stanwell Corporation rather than continuing as an independent electricity generator.

• 2010

  Queensland electricity-sector review

  [1]Tarong Energyen.wikipedia.org

  The Treasurer of Queensland reviewed the state’s electricity sector. The review produced a restructuring plan intended to reduce costs and reorganize publicly owned generation assets, including those associated with Tarong Energy.

A Queensland Government-owned wholesale electricity generator with a portfolio spanning coal-fired and hydroelectric power stations. Its role combined large-scale electricity supply with regional employment and participation in Queensland’s public-sector electricity industry.

• Coal-fired power station

  Tarong Power Station

  Tarong Power Station was one of Tarong Energy’s principal generating sites in Queensland. It formed part of the company’s thermal-generation portfolio and was a major employer in the South Burnett region. The station contributed to Tarong Energy’s role as a large-scale supplier of electricity to Queensland’s interconnected power system.

• Coal-fired power station

  Tarong North Power Station

  Tarong North Power Station was a major thermal-generation asset in Tarong Energy’s Queensland portfolio. Alongside Tarong Power Station, it supported the company’s wholesale electricity-supply activities and helped make Tarong Energy one of the state’s significant publicly owned generators.

• Hydroelectric power station

  Wivenhoe Power Station

  Wivenhoe Power Station provided hydroelectric generation within Tarong Energy’s otherwise strongly thermal-oriented portfolio. Its inclusion gave the company a mixed generation base and connected its operations with Queensland’s broader electricity-market and water-infrastructure systems.

• Emissions-reduction technology

  Post-combustion emission-capture research

  Tarong Energy worked on post-combustion emission-capture technologies as an attempt to reduce the climate impacts associated with coal-fired electricity generation. The available material describes this as technology work and does not establish a commercial product launch or full-scale deployment.

• 2011

  Transfer of Tarong Energy assets to Stanwell Corporation and CS EnergyStrategy

  Background

  A Queensland Government review of the electricity sector in 2010 identified a need to reduce costs and reorganize the state’s generation businesses.

  Action taken

  Effective 1 July 2011, Tarong Energy’s generation assets were divided between Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy. Tarong Energy itself became a subsidiary of Stanwell Corporation.

  Aftermath

  The restructuring ended Tarong Energy’s independent role as a generation company and placed its former assets within other Queensland Government-owned electricity businesses.

  Source

1. 1Tarong Energyen.wikipedia.org