Electricity is a necessity in our everyday modern lives. On 3 August, EMYA arranged a tour to the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited’s (CLP) “ElectriCity” visitor centre at Castle Peak Power Station in Tuen Mun to explore the energy world.
Running on a diversified fuel mix such as coal, natural gas and ultra-low-sulphur diesel, CLP currently operates three power plants located in Castle Peak and Lung Kwu Tan in Tuen, and another in Penny’s Bay of Lantau Island which provide daily electricity supply for domestic uses covering across Kowloon, New Territories and most of the Outlying Islands in Hong Kong.
The Castle Peak plant is a coal-fired power station. The use of coal has enabled the access of reliable and affordable electricity, despite its relatively high level of GHGs emission including carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). The Black Point power plants primary uses natural gas sourcing from the West-East Gas Pipeline from Mainland China, which offers good reliability, lower extent of emission despite at significantly higher generation cost. With technological innovations, the feasibility of extracting natural gas offshore by ocean vessels would be observed, in hoping of reducing dependence on Mainland China as the main source of gas supply. Lastly Penny's Bay Power Station serves to be a backup facility in the generating system in emergency case of short-term demand spikes or supply interruptions during peak times.
After having a grasp of some basic concepts, our E&M Ambassadors moved to outdoor to look at the Coal Mill. The equipment is one of the major installations in the power generation process that grinds the coal into smaller pieces for better burning efficiency; the coal powder would next be combusted by boilers to produce steam heat as high as 540 degrees. Its high pressure manages to spin the turbines and generate electricity via the generator unit as a result, ready for local consumption via transmission by power grids. The by-product coal ashes coming out of the transportation process would be recovered for making construction materials at the nearby cement plant.
Hydro technology is also applied to store energy by on one side pumping water from a lower to an upper reservoir. In reverse, the stored energy can then be retrieved by running the hydro units from high towards low as generators, with their output available to the grid system at peak demand.
At the end of the tour, our E&M ambassadors expressed their interest in understanding the power issues.
We can always enjoy the easy lives that instant power offers at our finger tips. Behind the scene in fact it is even beyond the complicated process, cutting-edge technology and huge costs to make it work, therefore every one of us should conserve energy resources and be green as far as we can.
