Yallourn Power Station - Briquette Factory

Briquette Factory

In conjunction with the power station, the open cut mine also fed a briquette factory operated by the SECV. The first stage of the factory came into operation in November 1924 with a capacity of about 400 tons per day, with a major extension approved in 1927 and completed early in 1931 increasing the capacity to 1200 tons per day. Using German technology, the factory also generated electricity, with a maximum output of approximately 10 MW it produced 220 MWhr daily, of which about 50 MWhr was used in the factory and 170 MWhr was fed into the state grid. The plant closed in 1970, after the discovery and reticulation of natural gas in Victoria which lead to the closure of the major Lurgi briquette gasification plant in Morwell. Remaining demand for briquette was met by the Morwell briquette factory that was opened in 1959 and which is still open today.