Castle Peak Power Station

The Castle Peak Power Station (Chinese: 青山發電廠) is the largest coal-fired power station in Hong Kong. It is situated in Tap Shek Kok, Tuen Mun District, on the north shore of Urmston Road. Its name came from the mountain Castle Peak nearby. The station consists of four 350 MW and four 677 MW generating units, with auxiliary facilities.[1]

Castle Peak Power Station
CountryChina
LocationTuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong
Coordinates22°22′32″N 113°55′12″E
StatusOperational
Commission date1982
Owner(s)
CLP Group(70%)
China Southern Power Grid(30%)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Power generation
Units operational4 × 350 MW
4 × 677.5 MW
Nameplate capacity4,108 MW[1]
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

It was commissioned in 1982 with its newest generation unit installed in 1990. It is one of the three power stations that CLP operates in Hong Kong, totalling to 6,908 MW of installed capacity.

In 2007 Castle Peak burned 9 million tonnes of coal of which, according to CLP, 4.6 million tonnes was low-sulphur coal from Indonesia. The power station has been undertaking a range of programmes to improve emission performance, including refurbishing burners to reduce emission of nitrogen oxide, SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction) and BOFA (Boosted Over Fire Air) has been installed, and Flue-gas desulfurization for sulphur removal. This power station is a major contributor to non-motor-traffic pollution in Hong Kong.

History

The Castle Peak "A" Power Station was officially opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on 28 September 1982.[2] The site was designed with provision for construction of a "B" power station at a later date.[3]

It was decided to go ahead with the Castle Peak "B" Power Station in 1981.[2] This was built by the Castle Peak Power Company, a joint venture between CLP and Esso. The first two (of four) units were inaugurated by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 22 October 1986.[4]

Ownership

The station is owned by Castle Peak Power Company (Capco) which also owns the Black Point Power Station and the Penny's Bay Power Station.[5] Initially CLP held a 40% stake (60% held by ExxonMobil) in Capco. The total power generation capacity of the three power station amounts to 6,908 MW.[5]

On 19 November 2013, CLP Group and China Southern Power Grid Company (CSG) announced its acquisition of Exxon's 60% stake in Capco for HK$24 billion. After the transaction, CLP holds a 70% stake while CSG holds the remaining 30% stake.[6][7] The transaction was said to help CLP lower its emission to meet its target in 2020, by importing more clean energy through CSG's grid.[7] The transaction was expected to be completed in 2014.[7] After the transaction, Exxon would exit the power generation business in Hong Kong, its only such investment worldwide.[7]

Future plans

CLP is building a gas-fired generation unit at the nearby Black Point Power Station. After this is commissioned around 2023, two coal-fired generating units at Castle Peak are planned to be decommissioned.[8]

See also

References
  1. Power station performance (CLP Group)
  2. "PM leaves with a 'thank you'". South China Morning Post. 29 September 1982. p. 1.
  3. "New power plants are on target for 1982 switch-on". South China Morning Post. 18 June 1980. p. 12.
  4. Cheung, Walter (23 October 1986). "Castle Peak yet another 'success story'". South China Morning Post.
  5. "ExxonMobil divests power generation business in Hong Kong (Nov 18, 2013)". Platts.com. S&P Global. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  6. Stronger relationship up north set to spark expansion
  7. Lam, Anita; Tsang, Denise (Nov 20, 2013). "CLP Power and China Southern Power buy Exxon Mobil's power plant stakes". The South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. "Government to further reduce emissions from power plants". Hong Kong Government. 25 October 2019.
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