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The project was undertaken by TRUenergy (formerly Yallourn Energy) and the Roche Thiess/Linfox joint venture and required the construction of a new 3.5km diversion of the Morwell River to allow access to coal reserves to the power station.
“This project extends the life of the Yallourn opencut mine to 2032 and ensures the future of the Yallourn Power Station, which provides 20% of Victoria’s electricity needs,” said Victorian minister for state and regional development John Brumby.
“As well as providing security of supply for 1450MW, this project also generated $A120 million in new investment in the region through the creation of 150 local jobs.”
The river diversion was conducted with extreme care, going above and beyond environmental requirements by preserving hundreds of endangered strezlecki eucalypt trees and areas of local wetlands habitat.
“Despite significant logistical challenges, the river diversion has been delivered on time and on budget, with the power station not losing a single day of operation during the construction phase,” Brumby said.
“Both companies worked together to come up with an innovative solution to create a new 3.5km-river diversion on top of an embankment constructed from 13 million cubic metres of mine ‘overburden’.”
The project received a nomination for the 2005 Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards and project manager Laurice Temple has been nominated for the National Association of Women in Business Awards.