Victorian Desalination Plant

rdf:langString Victorian Desalination Plant

rdf:langString Victorian Desalination Plant

rdf:langString Entry on Lower Powlett Rd

rdf:langString A$5.7 billion contracted to 2039

rdf:langString Australia Victoria

rdf:langString The Victorian Desalination Plant (also referred to as the Victorian Desalination Project or Wonthaggi desalination plant) is a water desalination plant in Dalyston, on the Bass Coast in southern Victoria, Australia. The project was announced by Premier Steve Bracks in June 2007, at the height of the millennium drought when Melbourne's water storage levels dropped to 28.4%, a drop of more than 20% from the previous year. Increased winter-spring rains after mid-2007 took water storage levels above 40%, but it was not until 2011 that storages returned to pre-2006 levels. The plant was completed in December 2012, and was the largest addition to Melbourne's water system since the Thomson River Dam was completed in 1983. However, at the time, Melbourne's reservoirs were at 81% capacity, and the plant was immediately put into standby mode. The first water released for public use was in March 2017 via Cardinia Reservoir. As a rainfall-independent source of water the desalination plant complements Victoria's existing drainage basins, being a useful resource in times of drought. It is a controversial part of Victoria's water system, with ongoing costs of $608 million a year, equivalent to .16% of Melbourne's FY2019 GDP, even if no water is ordered. Construction commenced in mid-2009. While the project will supply water for Melbourne, it is being managed by the Department of Sustainability & Environment (DSE) as a public-private partnership (PPP). DSE awarded the tender for design, build and operation to another company that will in turn supply the water to Melbourne Water, that makes payments to the plant owners and operators, Aquasure (Ventia/Suez). Melbourne Water pays the owner of the plant, even if no water is ordered, $608 million a year. That is $1.8 million per day, for 27 years. The total payment is expected to be between $18 and $19 billion. On 1 April each year, the Minister for Water places an order for the following financial year, up to 150 gigalitres a year, at an additional cost to Melbourne Water and consumers.

rdf:langString Windfarm at Glenthompson

rdf:langString per day

rdf:langString per day

rdf:langString December 2012

rdf:langString Estimated 33% of Melbourne