CS Energy, a Queensland Government owned Corporation, said today that it is planning to close the 40 year old coal fired station Swanbank B by 2012.

Swanbank B is situated at Ipswich, west of Brisbane in southern Queensland. The company said that the power station has nearly come to the end of its operating life. At the same time CS Energy also ensured that no jobs would be taken away and the workers of Swanbank B will be shifted to the other sites of the company.

Swanbank B coal fired power station was commissioned in the year 1971. The capacity of Swanbank B is of 480 megawatt per year. CS Energy said that the power station is nearing the end of its operational life and this is the main reason behind the closure of the power station. The company said that the four generating units of Swanbank B will be placed in storage. CS Energy said that Swanbank B was no longer economically viable to the company. But the company also said that it has plans to build another gas fired power station at the site.

However, CS Energy also said that the closure of Swanbank B will not impact the Queensland power supplies as Swanbank E power station will continue operation. Swanbank E is a gas-fired power station and was commissioned in 2001. The 385 megawatt Swanbank E is also very environmental friendly as it produces 50% fewer greenhouse emissions than the average coal-fired power plant.