AGL is one step closer to its Torrens Island ‘A’ power station in Adelaide, with the announcement that it has selected a demolition services company to begin the first phase of demolition in October 2023. 

The McMahon Group has been granted the demolition contract with AGL for the first phase, with the contract involving the removal of turbine hall equipment and demolition works to flue ducts and cooling water infrastructure. 

AGL’s gas-fired power station ‘A’ on Torrens Island consists of four generating units. The first two were closed in September 2020 when the company began to progressively close the station. The third unit was closed in September 2021, and the final unit closed in September 2022. 

Over its 55 years of operation, ‘A’ station supplied approximately 200 million MWh of energy to the South Australian market. 

AGL Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said that the appointment of McMahon Services marks a milestone for the company as its transitions into a low carbon industrial energy hub. 

“Decommissioning work at the power station has been underway since the last of the four units closed in September 2022, making the site ready for the demolition phase to begin in October this year.  

“The overall demolition process will take about two years and we plan to recycle over 90 per cent of the scrap steel during this process. Some of the key infrastructure will be retained and repurposed as the site transitions into the Torrens Energy Hub over the coming years,” Mr Brokhof said. 

The Torrens site is a great example of the energy transition in action. In the last three years we have closed Torrens A power station, built a gas peaking plant, and built and opened the second largest battery in Australia providing flexibility and storage for the South Australian energy grid.”