Sinclair Knight Merz carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the Millmerran Power Project in south-east Queensland. The proposed project involved a 3.2 Mt/a coal mine, an adjacent 840 MW advanced cycle power station and a 100 km long water supply pipeline from the Wetalla sewage treatment plant near Toowoomba.
A component of the project was an evaluation of the economic impact of the mine and power station on the local, state and national economies.
Major tasks carried out by SKM Economics, part of the Sinclair Knight Merz group, included:
- an evaluation of the power generation market in Queensland in order to determine the need for the project
- a socio-economic analysis of the region
- the use of input output analysis to determine the flow-on impacts of the development to the regional and state economies
- an estimation of changes in the value of agricultural production in the region, including an assessment of the impact of diverting water from irrigators to the power station.
The involvement of SKM Economics in this economic evaluation demonstrates its skills in the following areas:
- an in depth knowledge of the power generation market
- experience in assessing the economic effects of large power station and mine projects.