The future of NSWs coal-fired power plants is under increasing threat from cheap renewable energy, which this week forced Victorias Yallourn coal plant to bring forward its closure date as analysts warn the end may come even sooner. Mr St Bakers proposal was also raised as the Federal Government approved the controversial Wallarah 2 underground coal mine north of Wyong, leading critics to warn the government could kiss goodbye to the Liberal-held Central Coast seat of Robertson because the community strongly opposes amine in the regions water catchment. 15% of Wyong and 11% of Gosford population suffer from 3 or more chronic health conditions including asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, compared to 5% or less across Sydney. Vales Point A (replacement) power station is a proposal by Delta Electricity to build a new 660 MW plant on the site of the demolished Vales Point A plant in New South Wales, Australia. The EPA has the chance to take a good look at this before issuing the new owners with a licence to pollute, she said. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. 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. [6], Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning hydrocarbon fuels.[7]. 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. The funding was to be provided as an ad hoc grant under the Morrison governments Underwriting New Generation Investments (UNGI) program, meaning the funds could only be used for Delta Electricitys proposed upgrades. 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. As owners for the last eight years, Esprey and St Baker Family Trust have positioned the business to continue essential operations through the energy transition, but recognise that there are opportunities to grow the business and that this can be better accomplished in a portfolio with Sev.ens other base-load capable generation interests, he said. Future: Part of the Vales Point power station on the Central Coast. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. NSW is facing a potential shortage of reliable power as coal power stations shut down, with the closure of AGL Energy's Liddell plant in the Hunter Valley in April 2023 set to be followed. The Liddel power station in the NSW Hunter is already set to close in 2023, but the report said at least one more closure in the state is likely before 2025. We will not spam you or sell your details. Energy analysts said the renewables-led collapse in average prices across the nations electricity grid was so severe that the 1480-megawatt facility supplying up to 22 per cent of the states power could close even sooner than expected. For fossil fuel production to be clean carbon capture has to be tacked on to capture the emissions. In December 2021, the value of the power station was written down to $156 million and in September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. Help using this website - Accessibility statement, Alinta Energys Hong Kong-based owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is understood, EnergyAustralias owner CLP Group, also based in Hong Kong, is in the market, AGL Energy is struggling to determine its forward strategy. The other legacies of coal power include environmental and community impact that cannot be ignored as the closure of power stations take place in NSW. Its coal. Mr Kean will say the region has strong potential for green hydrogen, fuelled by renewable power sources, due to its access to existing energy infrastructure, sustainable water sources, ports and logistics. Vales Point Power Station will have its limits on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions cut by up to 35% to meet new national air quality standards in the local community, and will have to adhere to strict new monitoring and reporting conditions from next year. Lake Macquarie Home Fishing Fishing closures, restrictions and permits Lake Macquarie The above closures are generated from the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2019 unless otherwise specified. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. AGL said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. On Tuesday Kean said he was still expecting the plant to close by 2029, saying the state had plans in place to ensure that the capacity of Vales Point is replaced by that time. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. Vales Point uses salt water from Lake Macquarie for cooling. Energy entrepreneur Trevor St Baker and coal investor Brian Flannery will sell their Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW for several hundred million dollars to a private Czech firm in what represents a further upheaval in the fast-changing sector. AGL, rival Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia have all brought forward the dates for closure of coal-fired power stations since the start of 2021, triggering suggestions that some other coal generators may need to keep running for longer to keep electricity supply secure amid the rise of weather-dependent wind and solar power. 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. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . POWER magnate Trevor St Baker is expected to lodge a proposalwith the Federal Government today for a new Hunter or Central Coast coal-fired power station with a Chinese joint venture partner. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. In public comments this week, the current owner of Vales Point, Trevor St Baker, indicated that Sev.en may seek to keep the station open beyond its current closure date of 2029, saying the. Victoria's potential crunch comes with the 2028-29 closure of the Yallourn power plant in the. Vales Point power station is a major source of NOx on the Central Coast and beyond. The EPA also stipulated that Delta must investigate, mitigate and report on the causes of NOx emissions when the 1320-megawatt generator operates at less than half its capacity. The black coal operators run at a much higher short-run marginal cost and so those nearing the end of their technical lives may be re-evaluating their closure dates, Mr Allen said. Delta Electricity has stated that Vales Point's "nominal closure" is due in 2029. . Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. Wikimedia. NSW plant closures include the Vales Point power station, scheduled to shut in 2029-30. Delta chief executive Greg Everett said the proposed deal, which has yet to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, was a positive development for Delta and its stakeholders. In the context of the confluence of the above factors, Delta will not pursue the Vales Point power station efficiency project. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . The ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the New South Wales Central Coast, due to close in 2029, was given a stay of execution in the federal budget. The Toshiba 660 MW turbo-alternator became the standard in New South Wales, with similar units later being installed at Eraring, Bayswater and Mount Piper. As outlined in the budget speech and subsequent announcement, the budget allocation has a funding cap of $8.7m, which is below that which Delta requested, leaving a substantially higher quantum of funding by Delta, Delta said in the letter. A licence granted last year exempts the operators of the Vales Point plant, recently sold to Sev.en Global Investments, from nitrogen oxide pollution standards. Hydrogen is a rare element which means it needs to be manufactured. To disable your cookies, please click on Settings. Unit no. He noted the deal includes a coal mine that supplies the 1320-megawatt Vales Point generator and that the plant is in good order. Vales Point is a coal-fired power station which supplies baseload electricity. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. [citation needed], In November 2015, the Government of New South Wales sold Delta Electricity, which at that time owned only the Vales Point Power Station, to Sunset Power International for $1 million. 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The analysis found if power prices continued to decline, Yallourn, along with the Eraring, Mt Piper, Vales Point B and Gladstone black coal plants would be making a loss by 2025. The Lake Macquarie community and the Lake itself has long suffered as a result of pollution from the Vales Point power station. Vales Point Power Plant is owned by Delta Electricity, but in September the company announced that the plant is being sold to Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments. Sydney, NSW 2000 Commercial interest has been registered in 24 solar energy projects; 13 onshore and seven offshore wind energy projects; 35 large-scale batteries and eight pumped hydro projects. Mr St Baker said Evie Networks was moving into a capital-intensive phase with the rollout of 300 fast charging stations around Australia, while he was also involved in developing e-mobility in the Philippines. Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing closure potential. The facility is old, dirty, and poorly maintained. In 2021, the Vales Point Power Station emitted more toxic nitrogen oxide pollutants than allowable under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2021. 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. Invoice Validation & Network Tariff Analysis. . 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. Eraring is now scheduled for closure in 2025 and will leave Vales Point as the last electricity-generating station standing on Lake Macquarie, however, Vales Point is also scheduled for nominal closure in 2029. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. While Delta secretary Steve Gurney said the sale of Vales Point was a completely unrelated commercial matter to the emissions issue, Nature Conservation Council chief executive, Jacqui Mumford, said the new owners should be required to slash the stations pollution so that people across NSW can breathe healthier air. The owners of the Hazelwood coal plant in the Latrobe valley only provided five months notice ahead of its closure in 2017, which delivered a big blow to the workforce and Victorias power prices. NSW coal region councils join forces for huge renewable energy mandate, Japans pivot to renewables will kick Australian exports right in the thermals. Proponents of renewable energy and some business leaders haveraised concerns that financial supportfor hydrogen production powered by fossil fuels could artificially prolong the operation of the nations ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations, or create demand for gas which would be better directed to wind and solar projects. In an open letter to the Newcastle Herald, eleven community environment groups from Lake Macquarie and the Hunter urge the Australian Treasurer, Jim Chalmers to reject the sale of the Vales Point power station for fear of worsening impacts. The map below shows the location of the plant, near Mannering Park, New South Wales. Vales Point was originally equipped with three turbo-alternators of 200 MW supplied by the English Electric (unit nos. Vales Point Power Station February 17, 2022 Delta Energy's plans for Vales Point power station at Mannering Park will go unchanged despite the announcement by Origin Energy on February 17 that it will close Eraring - Australia's largest power station - seven years early. Health at GoPetition. Meanwhile, EnergyAustralias owner CLP Group, also based in Hong Kong, is in the market for partnerships to support future investments to support the decarbonisation of the countrys third-largest power and gas supplier. Subsequently, St Baker stated that the shortlisted project was for 20 MW upgrades of the two existing turbines at the Vales Point B plant. 4), for a total of 875 MW. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. It leaves the Morrison governments UNGI program has still having supported no new generation investments, despite being first announced in October 2018, and announcing a dozen shortlisted projects more than two years ago. Local health professionals have analysed government health data and found shocking evidence of high cancer rates among residents in suburbs surrounding the power station and its coal ash dam each year an extra 107 cancer cases and 58 cancer deaths above the national average. This will benefit customers, employees and system security for all energyusers.. All rights reserved. NSW has committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the Hunter region is zoned for renewable energy development to help reach the goal. He dismissed the suggestion that Vales Point would close earlier than 2029, particularly given the impending closure of its near neighbour, Liddell Power Station, in 2023. "Hundreds of thousands of people living near Australia's largest power station do not know what they are breathing," the report states. Cooking with gas: How bad for your health is it, really? Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. the nominal closure of Vales Point . Its a two years exemption, then we can apply for another period of time. Publicly owned until 2015 when sold to Sunset International Power for $1 million, the deal capped the new owners site rehabilitation costs to just $10M. Environmental Justice Australia solicitor Jocelyn McGarity said there were serious concerns the licence conditions were unlawful and that the plant should not be allowed to operate beyond 2029. In 2010, a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at Delta Electricity's now mothballed Munmorah power station was set for expansion, after receiving US$28 million in funding. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Leading Edge Energy is proud to be a signatory of the National Customer Code for Energy Brokers, Consultants and Retailers. However, the company also flagged that it remained open to shifting the closure date of the Vales Point power station, which was dependent on the prevailing conditions in the energy market. In February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised Liberal party donor and part owner Trevor St Baker that an $11 million grant would be going his way to make upgrades. The operator applied for an exemption granted in December 2021 with a reduction variation and additional conditions imposed by the NSW Environment Protection Agency. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity. The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. The largest coal plant in the state AGLs 2880 MW Eraring Power Station, will be closed in 2025. Billionaire Trevor St Baker will reignite plans for a 20-year extension of NSW's Vales Point coal power station amid fears the early closure of Origin Energy's giant Eraring plant may lead to market volatility and higher prices. The proposal isin response to Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylors call in September for fair dinkum baseload power generation after the Federal Government lost a public battle with generator AGL over the closure of Liddell power station in 2022. Granted in December last year, the exemption allows the operators to emit a higher level of nitrogen oxide than usually allowable under clean air regulations. It just staggers me that Australia is so far behind the rest of the world which is switching to renewables while were still talking about projects like this, Ms Wynn said. St Baker said that financing the projects would not be sought from Australian banks but instead would rely solely on international lenders. They would be Australias first high-efficiency, low emissions stations, Mr St Baker said. 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. "We predict that gas power station output will fall by 78 per cent and coal output . Delta has been contacted for further comment. It was a good letter from Anne Aldcroft (CCN380) regarding dog owners not doing their duty. The sale price was not included in the press statement released on Saturday, December 17. The NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. 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 one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. The power stationed operated from 11 March 1927 until March 1976. In January 2019 St Baker told The Australian that he would submit a proposal to Australia's Minister for Energy, Angus Taylor, for government support from the Underwriting New Generation Investments program for three projects including a new A$2 billion 660 MW black coal plant in NSW's Hunter Valley at the Vales Point A power station site or at AGL's Liddell power station.The report claimed "St Baker has lined up a Chinese joint-venture partner" but did not name the company. At the same time, embattled AGL Energy is struggling to determine its forward strategy and put in place a refreshed board after the collapse of a demerger plan and as its biggest shareholder, software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, pushes for a faster exit from coal power to align with the goals of the Paris climate accord. . 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. Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. Please correct the marked field(s) below. Australia is positioning itself to tap the potential boom in hydrogen fuel, if its adopted globally as a replacement for petroleum. Mannering Park Progress Association spokesperson Sue Wynn said a new coal-fired power station at Vales Point was the worst news Mannering Park and surrounding areas could possibly hear. There are three methods to extract hydrogen. Brisbane-based energy consultant Trevor St Baker and coal baron Brian Flannery. We use "cookies" to enhance your experience on our website. He floated the proposal only two weeks after the NSW Environment Protection Authority ordered Vales Point owner Delta Electricity to clean up a huge part of the power stations ash dam after dumped asbestos was found in building waste fill. Please try again later. (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. The Cockle Creek power station was built by Caledonian Collieries Limited between 1925 and 1927 to use low grade coal to provide power to Caledonian Collieries mines and the surrounding townships in both the . When queried, the department told RenewEconomy that the funding set aside in the budget was considered to represent value for money. This page was last edited on 30 April 2021, at 11:25. 4 was brought into use in 1966. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. Our Morning Edition newsletter is a curated guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. . Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). The sale reportedly netted Delta $200m despite the company paying only $1m to buy it from the NSW government in 2015, prompting the states opposition to accuse the Coalition of having dudded taxpayers over the sale. 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. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSWs energy. [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. Were working to restore it. Delta Electricity and Mr St Bakers Energy Innovation Fund did not respond to calls for comment. Delta Coal which supplies Vales Point have an active proposal to continue mining largely exploited seams, ommunity fears over worsening pollution impacts from this aging facility under this potential new ownership, RSVP for updates and an invitation in 2023. 15 December 2021. Sep 18, 2022 - 3.16pm Energy entrepreneur Trevor St Baker and coal investor Brian Flannery will sell their Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW for several hundred million dollars to. Given that the ongoing operation of the Vales Point power station remains subject to market forces, and noting the current forecast closure date of 2029 may come forward or be deferred on the strength of these market forces, the benefits arising from the remaining life of Vales Point power station and the proposed project have been diminished by the passage of time, Delta said. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . Delta Electricity, which is jointly owned by Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery, announced early in 2019 that it was seeking support for the proposal from the Australian Government's Underwriting New Generation Investments program. Delta said it did not make financial sense to proceed with the upgrade with the smaller grant amount, given ongoing uncertainty in the energy market and the looming closure of the power station, currently slated for 2029. The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. [5] The balloon loop opened in March 1980. Mr . The grant was to pay for upgrades to a turbine at the Vales Point power station, increasing its thermal efficiency, allowing an additional 30MW of output for the same amount of coal burnt. Officials from the department told Senate Estimates in March that they were aware that Shine Energy was likely to fail to deliver a bankable feasibility study into a proposed Collinsville coal fired power station after an audit undertaken by the Australian National Audit Office found the $4 million in grant funding awarded to the company was not enough to ensure the study could be completed. Correspondence obtained through an earlier FOI request shows that Delta Electricity and the department undertook negotiations throughout 2020, ahead of funding being awarded in the federal budget. 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. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. The transaction still needs to be completed, with approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board outstanding. Recent state government announcements in Queensland and Victoria look to cut coal generation out of the energy mix as soon as possible. Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Phone: 02 4352 6111 But it also represents a significant expansion of Sev.en in Australias coal power sector beyond its interest in Queenslands InterGen, with the suggestion that further investments in the domestic energy sector may be on the cards. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. These four units were known as 'A' Station, its capacity of 875 MW being the highest in New South Wales at the time.
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