AGL Wallumbilla Facility
Reducing emissions by utilising gases with little or no commercial value such as Butane to produce power.
Project Details
| Site Owner | AGL |
| Commission Date | 2020 |
| Fuel Source | Butane |
| Facility | Gas Processing Plant |
| Location | Wallumbilla, QLD |
| System Application | Power Only (Waste to Power) |
Description
AGL Energy, which is one of Australia’s largest fully integrated energy companies, has a proud history of innovation and a passionate belief in environmental progress. Which is why they wanted to find a way to utilise excess butane produced as a by-product of their LPG production that has little or no commercial value and is usually flared. AGL approached Optimal Group to find a solution and together, we were able to develop a world-first Capstone C1000S microturbine that operates on 100% butane.
Commissioned in June 2020 at the remote Wallumbilla LPG facility located five hours outside of Brisbane, the system operates in grid connect mode supporting the plant's power requirements of 200kW and exporting approximately 800kW of excess power onto the local electric utility grid.
On top of the improved efficiency and decreased emissions, the much lower noise pollution was also a major factor for AGL, especially from a Work, Health, and Safety (WHS) standpoint. The Head of Gas Operations at AGL, Burk McCaul notes that visiting inspectors from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy were able to hold a conversation with site staff while standing directly next to the microturbine.
In keeping with AGL’s progressive energy strategy, the system is not only the first gas site in the world to use a butane fired, grid-connected microturbine to generate onsite electricity, it’s also the first Type-B certified butane-fuelled microturbine in Australia, and the first microturbine to be connected to the grid in Queensland.