Veolia Water has been awarded the contract for the upgrade of one of Australia's largest power stations, the Bayswater water treatment plants, by Macquarie Generation, Australia's largest electricity generating company.

The contract, worth a total amount of €42.7 million, is for the optimization of long-term water treatment requirements of the Bayswater Power Plant (situated 250 kms north of Sydney) and water sustainability in the nearby Lake Liddell.

The Macquarie Generation's Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations provide approximately 40% of New South Wales' electricity demand, with Bayswater having a generating capacity of 2,640 MW. As part of Bayswater's water management system, Macquarie Generation wanted to minimise its impact on the environment. Vital cooling water is recycled and treated to ensure that no contaminants reach local waterways. Lake Liddell was originally built for providing the vast amounts of condensate cooling water needed for the station's operation, then became a popular recreational lake.

The comprehensive and innovative water solution package provided by Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies will include design and construction, and operations and maintenance requirements for the water treatment plants. The project scope involves two years of design and construction works, and a 5-year operating and maintenance period.

The solution provided by Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies will optimise and improve the reliability and availability of the existing water treatment plants. It will notably minimise chemical usage and the volume of the water to the evaporation ponds, and maintain Bayswater as a Zero Liquid Discharge Power Station. This contract therefore illustrates the mutual commitment of Macquarie Generation and Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies to responsible environmental management

 said Antoine Frérot, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water.