Twelve Things MC-B Could Do with Loy Yang A

After a very interesting few days for AGL, I thought I would do a brain dump on some of the things that Mike Cannon-Brookes and his team might do with Loy Yang A. I know that Mike doesn't control AGL yet, but let's just say that he does (or perhaps will in the future).

It's a great site with water, a strong network connection and some excellent enabling infrastructure, so there are plenty of opportunities to do something special with the site.

1. Put in a big battery (kind of obvious).
2. Convert the generators to big synchronous condensers to continue to support system strength and inertia (this was how Unit 4 at Swanbank A ran back the olden days when I was a graduate).
3. Replace the boilers with big oxygen-hydrogen combustors producing superheated steam and run this through the existing steam turbines (along with a bank of electrolysers to turn it back into H2 and O2).
4. Put in a liquid air energy storage facility using the existing generators.
5. Retrofit post-combustion capture and CCS.
6. Replace with an IGCC with pre-combustion capture and CCS.
7. Put in a massive data centre.
8. Convert to a green ammonia or hydrogen production facility.
9. Use the mine void as a compressed air energy storage facility.
10. Mine the ash dam and produce green concrete.
11. Use the coal to produce turquoise hydrogen and graphite (or carbon-black).
12. Convert to waste to energy.

Maybe none of these are feasible, maybe some are. It will be interesting to see where the 'new AGL' takes things.