Veolia Australia and New Zealand (Veolia) has been chosen by Springvale Joint Venture and EnergyAustralia to deliver the new Springvale Mount Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant (Springvale WTP).
Veolia will partner with Australian based Infrastructure Capital Group to fund the project.
The Mount Piper Power Station provides approximately 15% of NSW's power, and the Springvale WTP will be built under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer contract.
It has been commissioned by EnergyAustralia and the Springvale Joint Venture to enhance the quality of mine water discharged, ensure operational compliance in relation to water outflows and most importantly, enable continued operations of both the mine and the power station.
The project requirements include:
Transfer of water from the Springvale Mine to EnergyAustralia’s Mount Piper Power Station (pipeline length c. 16km)
Treatment and reuse of the mine water, which is to be used as the industrial cooling water for the power station as well as ensuring excess water discharge complies with relevant environmental obligations
Implementing a brine extraction and crystallisation process that can blend with the waste streams from the Mount Piper Power Station, ensuring both the mine and the power station remain in operations.
Following the construction, Veolia will be responsible for the operations and ongoing maintenance of the pipeline and treatment facility, over a 15 year period.
Veolia ANZ managing director, Doug Dean, said the company's expertise in water treatment as well as its strong presence in mining and infrastructure gave the Springvale Joint Venture and EnergyAustralia the confidence to award the contract.
This project, he said, is critical to the state's power supply and provides an environmental outcome that will guarantee the mine’s future.
“This contract confirms the added-value solutions and expertise that our Group provides to its energy and mining clients, so that their processes can comply with industry and regulatory standards and can improve the efficiency of their operations," Dean said.
While preliminary site activities have already commenced, this contact now allows construction of the Springvale Water Treatment Plant to proceed immediately for completion by mid 2019.
The contract is projected to generate a number of jobs in the regional area and approximately $400 million in revenue for Veolia over the next 17 years.