Stanwell owns and operates two of Australia’s most reliable and efficient thermal power stations, and has built a reputation as one of the safest and most efficient operators in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The sites are 30 and 40 years old, yet remain the most reliable energy generation assets in Queensland.

Now, with Queensland’s largest pipeline of renewable generation and storage in development, the Government Owned Corporation will play a leading role in the state’s clean energy transformation.

The recently formed Stanwell Asset Maintenance Company (SAMCo) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanwell that’s dedicated to providing operational and maintenance services – not just for our own renewable energy assets, but for the owners of other renewable assets across Queensland and Australia, as we build our maintenance services capability within the sector.

Closing the generation gap

SAMCo is led by Steve Clark, Stanwell’s General Manager Renewable Maintenance Services. Steve’s extensive understanding of power generation asset management, operations and maintenance has been forged over the course of 28 years in the industry.

This includes a decade in the renewable energy space, managing wind, solar and pumped hydro storage sites across Australia, as well as significant experience in the management of coal-fired facilities, open-cycle gas turbines and combined-cycle power plants.

Having managed both renewable and thermal energy assets, Steve has seen firsthand that their service and maintenance needs aren’t as different as you might think. That’s why he’s confident that SAMCo, drawing on Stanwell’s decades of operational excellence in power generation, is poised to be a leader in this sector.

“The skills and asset management systems that have been developed within Stanwell’s thermal power stations are absolutely transferable to renewable technologies,” Steve says.

“Stanwell has a long and firmly established track record of delivering world class thermal plant availability and reliability. Our experience with thermal power plants, coupled with our growing expertise in renewables, places us in a unique position to drive operational excellence across the energy spectrum.

“We have a wealth of engineering and maintenance experience, and many of the components that are required for renewable generation – from transformers and inverters to control and monitoring systems – are simply business as usual for Stanwell.

“So the technical capability is certainly there, but more than that, what sets SAMCo apart in the renewable service and maintenance space is that we bring an asset owner’s perspective to the table.

“Stanwell is Queensland’s largest electricity generator, with a portfolio of assets we own and operate. That puts us in a unique position, when it comes to the operational and maintenance services SAMCo offers to other generators, because we have a holistic understanding of what it takes to manage an asset.

“Of course these generators want to minimise the cost of operating and maintaining their facilities. But we also know they want to maximise the energy they generate; minimise downtime and disruption; achieve their availability and response time guarantees; optimise the useful lives of their facilities; and ensure the safety of their people, all while minimising their impact on the environment.

“We know this because these are Stanwell’s operational goals as an asset owner as well, and we’ve developed best practice systems and processes to ensure we achieve them. And SAMCo is able to leverage these established systems, processes and capabilities with our maintenance services offering.”

A bright future

SAMCo is able to leverage Stanwell’s highly-skilled people, while at the same time providing Stanwell’s people with opportunities to boost their experience in the renewable sector.

Steve says this will help to put them in prime position for the jobs that will emerge as Queensland moves towards its target of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2035.

“The people who put their hands up now – the first movers and early adopters – will be in a strong position to work on the renewable projects that are in the pipeline,” he says.

“It’s about providing future pathways and opportunities for those who want to start building their capabilities now, in alignment with the Queensland Energy Workers’ Charter and the Job Security Guarantee.”

Steve actually has more invested in Queensland’s clean energy future than most. As Stanwell’s resident Super Dad, he and his wife haven’t just raised five biological children – they’ve adopted another six, three of whom still live at home, and are fostering twin girls.

(For anyone keeping score, that means they’ve outdone the family from ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ by one.)

“I’m not a young man,” Steve laughs, “but having that many kids at home does help to keep me young, in a sense. We’ve had to keep active, and follow the teenage trends.

“Of the 13 kids, I have three sons. The rest are all girls, and it’s been great to see some of them grow into management positions in traditionally male-dominated industries. We raised them to know that anything was possible, and that there was no opportunity they couldn’t pursue. I’m not sure that would have been true when I was their age, and that gives me hope for the future.

“At the end of the day, that’s what really excites me about this role – renewables are the future. And I’m proud that what we’re doing with SAMCo can help prepare Stanwell for its role in that future.”