Swanbank power station

The Swanbank power station is located in Swanbank, South East Queensland, Australia. It is coal, natural gas, and landfill gas powered with a generation capacity of 865 MW.

History
Swanbank B was commissioned in 1973 with four 120 MW coal-fired steam turbines. Swanbank E was commissioned in 2002 with one 385 MW combined cycle gas turbine. Swanbank A station, which burned coal, was decommissioned in August 2005. CS Energy is planning a second gas-fired power station at the site as part of the Swanbank F Power Project.

July 11-12, 2008: Greenpeace activists occupy coal-fired power plant smokestack for 33 hours
On July 11, 2008, four Greenpeace activists climbed the 462 foot high smokestack of the Swanbank B power station. While the smokestack climbers hung a 'Renewables Not Coal' banner, two other activists climbed onto the roof of the plant and unfurled a banner reading 'Energy [R]evolution'. The four remained on the smokestack overnight in near freezing temperatures. On July 12, one of the protesters painted 'Go Solar' in huge lettering down the side of the smokestack. After 33 hours of occupation, all four climbers descended voluntarily. The goal of the action was to raise the level of debate in Queensland and the rest of Australia, re-emphasize the urgency of the climate change issue and the need to start shifting from coal to renewables.

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