air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia's fleet of coal-fired power stations are aging and many are due for decommissioning, and are being replaced by a combination of mostly renewable energy. Alinta Energys Hong Kong-based owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is understood to have fielded approaches for the Australian business, which includes the large Loy Yang B coal power generator in Victoria. The NSW Government has responded to the closure of Eraring by saying that to ensure energy reliability, it will work with industry partners to install the Waratah Super Battery, a 700MW/1400MWh grid battery, by 2025 to release grid capacity so Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong consumers can access more energy from existing electricity generation.. Its like selling an unregistered car. Feb 18, 2022 - 5.07pm. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates, sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, seeking approval to pay a senior barrister. To learn more about how we use information collected with cookies, please read our Privacy Policy. In a statement Mr St Baker highlighted the buyers commitment to growing the business. It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. Mr . The Lake Macquarie community and the Lake itself has long suffered as a result of pollution from the Vales Point power station. In 2022, an air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups, who argued that community health impacts of toxic air emissions - including childhood asthma and premature deaths were - being ignored, pointing out that Vales Point routinely breach NSW air protection laws. Private owners net millions in sale of ageing coal-fired power station in NSW, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Delta also blamed ongoing regulatory and policy uncertainty, which it said, does not represent an appropriate investment environment.. It has previously been reported that the EPA briefed the states environment minister, James Griffin, over concerns about the exemption, as well as seeking approval to pay a senior barrister for advice on the legality of the exemption. As previously revealed by RenewEconomy, Delta told the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in December that it would not proceed with a formal application for $8.7 million in grant funding that had been set aside in the 2020 federal budget. One uses gas and the other uses coal or gas, and for either to be a clean energy source they require carbon capture and storage to stop the emissions from the fossil fuels entering the atmosphere. We do not want this in foreign hands. Environment Justice Australia and the Nature Conservation Council have questioned whether the renewal of a licence granting the plant operators exemptions from some pollution standards for nitrogen oxide is valid because, they say, Delta applied for the renewal after the deadline. Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said last month that the industrys potential cannot be ignored and argued that Australia can attract $70 billion of investments over the next decade. In a letter obtained by RenewEconomy, Delta told the department that the funding was below the amount of funding the company had requested and left the company carrying too much of the cost. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity. A longstanding advocate of the need for round-the-clock dispatchable coal power, Mr St Baker said his decision to sell was more to do with wanting to redirect capital into his interests in electric vehicle charging than in any diminished conviction about the continuing need for coal-fired power as the transition to low-carbon power progresses. We make strategic investments with long-term commitment.. Delta has been contacted for further comment. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. . The first two units were completed in 1963, and the third in 1964. Future Sooner, local residents and health professionals are deeply concerned if this sale goes ahead it will extend the life of this filthy, old, polluting coal-fired power station and prolong the damage that is already affecting our health, said Gary Blaschke OAM, resident of Lake Munmorah, cancer sufferer and Future Sooner spokesperson. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. Solar feed-in tariffs cut again, despite much higher wholesale grid prices, How to double your old homes energy rating: Lessons from two efficiency retrofits, All-electric Polestar doubles sales, boosts margins as it prepares more EV models, EV battery recycler hits 95% recovery rate in world-first collection program, Electric vehicles grab record 6.8 pct share of Australia market as Tesla rules again. On Tuesday the NSW energy minister, Matt Kean, declined to weigh in on whether the sale was appropriate, but said the government would remain vigilant over the plant operations. Significant places & items of interest in the, New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, "NSW government sells Vales Point power station for $1m", Australian Financial Review (Subscription Required), "Vales Point power station privatisation put before auditor-general", "Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station", "St Baker and Flannery cash in on Vales Point coal plant in sale to Czechs", "Vales Point Power Station emission exemption application open for public comment", "New Vales Point pollution controls don't go far enough for environment groups", "Environment & Heritage | POEO Licences, Application and Notice Detail", "Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January", Electricity Commission of New South Wales, EnergyAustralia (state government enterprise), Sydney County Council (Sydney Electricity), List of power stations in New South Wales, Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vales_Point_Power_Station&oldid=1112958126, Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Thermal power station articles using Infobox power station, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, New England County Council (New England Electricity), North West County Council (North West Electricity), Northern Riverina County Council (Northern Riverina Electricity), Northern Rivers County Council (Northern Rivers Electricity), Peel-Cunningham County Council (PCCC Electricity), Shortland County Council (Shortland Electricity), Southern Mitchell County Council (Southern Mitchell Electricity), Southern Riverina County Council (Southern Riverina Electricity), Southern Tablelands County Council (Southern Tablelands Electricity), This page was last edited on 29 September 2022, at 00:23. The announcement today by Original doesnt change Vales Points position, said the spokesperson. Newcastle GP andpublic health academic Dr Ben Ewaldsaiddata from existing Hunter and Central Coast power stations provided more evidence of the need to replace old coal-fired power stations with renewable energy. It is the second instance of the Morrison government failing to secure investment in new coal-fired generation infrastructure by offering insufficient funding support, following earlier revelations that the government had not provided sufficient grant funding to ensure proponents of a coal-fired power station in Queensland could complete a bankable feasibility study. (Delta Electricity have also flagged the possibility of the proposed plant being built on the the site of the nearby Liddell power station, which is slated for closure in 2022. [3], In September 2022 Sunset Power owners announced the sale of Vales Point Power Station to a Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments.[4]. The Vales Point Power Plant is currently set for closure in 2029, but the EPA ruling delivered on 28 October 2022 could bring that date forward to 2025. It is understood that the joint owner of Delta, and significant political donor, Trevor St Baker, had been told informally in early 2020 that it was set to receive $11 million in grant funding from the Morrison government to fund the $20 million turbine upgrade. The facility is old, dirty, and poorly maintained. There are three methods to extract hydrogen. The script is starkly similar when it comes to water pollution from Vales Point, with offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. Analysts identified particular economic risk for Vales Point coal power near Newcastle, the same region where NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean will today announce a $70 million fund to grow a green hydrogen industry, which he said would bring jobs and growth to the region. Managing director Greg Everett said the decision was not due to plans for an early closure, but rather the grant approval process and timing did not meet the companys own timeline for having works completed. Cooking with gas: How bad for your health is it, really? The NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. It has been announced that the ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the Central Coast, NSW is to be sold by the Australian Delta Energy to the Czech fossil fuel investment company Sev.en, owned by billionaire Pavel Tyka. Unit no. That, environment groups say, has given new urgency for the NSW Environment Protection Authority to clarify the legality of a pollution exemption provided to the plant late last year. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. No need to search elsewhere for all the latest updates on the electricity market and energy-efficiency tips that are important for you, the savvy business owner. who bought Vales Point power station from the NSW Government for a song in 2015, The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future, clean up a huge part of the power stations ash dam, a dramatic increase in fine particle pollution, Department of Planning gives green light for Vales Point solar energy project, NSW Ports labels Newcastle container terminal 'white elephant' in parliamentary inquiry submission, Former professional surfer Jake Sylvester rescues swimmer at Merewether Beach, Wollombi Music Festival bans Wicked camper vans, National Farmers Federation and Agriculture Minister slam Aussie Farms interactive map of Australian properties, Train replica gives Newcastle something to choo on, Jets captain questions referee calls in controversial loss to Wellington, Police seek help to find 59-year-old missing from West Wallsend, Four assaulted in armed home invasion by five men wearing balaclavas, Toohey's News: Twin Towers key to Knights' rebuild, Terms and Conditions - Digital Subscription, Terms and Conditions - Newspaper Subscription. Contents 1 Location 2 Background on Plant 3 Carbon capture project 4 Environmental Impact 4.1 Air pollution 4.2 Coal ash dam 5 Future shutdown date 6 Interest in buying Liddell coal plant Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. Records date back to 2011. In its home market, it runs two coal power generators and two combined heat and power plants.
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