Coal supplies NSW with an average of 63 percent of its energy requirements, while the National Energy Market average is 59 percent. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . Australia is positioning itself to tap the potential boom in hydrogen fuel, if its adopted globally as a replacement for petroleum. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.James Whelan Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing "closure potential". The role of Deltas Vales Point power station in two devastating fish kills that took place in mid-2002 in Wyee Bay are currently under investigation by the NSW EPA. We make strategic investments with long-term commitment.. Sign up to Guardian Australia's Morning Mail, Our Australian morning briefing email breaks down the key national and international stories of the day and why they matter. 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. 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. 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. Vales Point power station - Global Energy Monitor 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. offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. Childhood asthma in the region has also been found to be extremely high (50% greater than in Sydney in spite of city transport fumes) and there is strong evidence that students who attend schools within a 10 Km radius of a coal fired power station have a reduction in learning outcomes due to the emissions from burning coal. Vales Point Power Station - Wikipedia Level 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. 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. The Vales Point coal-fired power station is expected to close in 2029 and there's concern the upgrade will extend this date even thought it's limited by state approvals, wiping out any emissions reduction benefits from the works. On the international front the Morrison government has committed $70 million to help develop a regional hydrogen export hub, and Australia has signed agreements with Japan, Korea, Germany and Singapore to investigate hydrogen supply chains. By 2050, green hydrogen has the potential to drive $350 billion in investment across Australia in current dollars and up to $26 billion per year in additional GDP, supporting the emergence of new decarbonised industries such as green steel and ammonia.. Health at GoPetition. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. Eraring and Vales Point coal-fired power stations in the Hunter could The Vales Point coal power station was sold by the NSW government in 2015 for just $1 million. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. The report,China at a Crossroads: Continued Support for Coal Power Erodes Countrys Clean Energy Leadership,found Chinese financial institutions and corporations funded more than 25 per cent of all new coal plants outside China in 2018, or $35.9 billion for projects in 27 countries, excluding Australia. Vales Point is a coal-fired power station which supplies baseload electricity. Anger as public funds extend life of dirty Vales Point power 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. Its a two years exemption, then we can apply for another period of time. Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. Mr . The first two units were completed in 1963, and the third in 1964. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy. Coal-fired power will be needed to keep the lights on for another couple of decades, said Mr St Baker, who is an investor in fast charging system provider Tritium, which listed in New York early this year, and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. 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It is acidic, has an unpleasant odour and is highly corrosive. Eraring closure has no impact on future of Vales Point Description. 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. 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. Future: Part of the Vales Point power station on the Central Coast. The sale, which was handled by RBC Capital Markets, takes Mr St Baker out of coal power at a sizeable profit on paper. The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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.. Stop the Sale of Vales Point Power Station and Close It Down This site uses "cookies" to give you the best experience on this website. 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. . This page was last edited on 30 April 2021, at 11:25. Its been a double whammyin the last couple of days first Wallarah 2, which is the Central Coasts Adani, and now this, another coal-fired power station proposal., Read more:Department of Planning gives green light for Vales Point solar energy project. Federal Budget 2020: 'Scandalous' Vales Point coal project slammed 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. 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. 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. Read our Privacy Policy. 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 Stop the Sale of Vales Point Power Station and Close It Down petition to Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers & NSW Treasurer Matt Kean was written by Future Sooner and is in the category 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. "Hundreds of thousands of people living near Australia's largest power station do not know what they are breathing," the report states. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. Hoping that this means by 2029 transporting and storage of toxic coal dust via the eyesore transport chanel located over Rutleys road will cease and be dismantled ? These are known as blue hydrogen. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. 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. The black coal burned at Vales Point is more expensive than Yallourns brown coal, Mr Everett said, but Vales Point could be run with more flexibility to quickly ramp output up or down to better match demand limit production costs. In December last year, Vales Point was issued with an order to limit its emissions of nitrogen oxide. Environmental Justice Australia director of advocacy and research, Nicola Rivers, said it was gob-smackingthe Australian Government would look to Mr St Baker as they seek energy solutions for the future, particularly given his companies rejection of infrastructure to limit pollution from existing power stations. Correspondence obtained by RenewEconomy through a freedom of information request shows that Delta Electricity cited ongoing policy uncertainty, questions about the long-term future of the plant and an inadequate funding offer from the Morrison government as reasons for cancelling proposed upgrades to Vales Point. Delta Electricity and Mr St Bakers Energy Innovation Fund did not respond to calls for comment. 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. 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. Please try again later. 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. Vales Point sale HCEC 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. We do not want this in foreign hands. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. This week Delta Electricity announced it sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, located in the states Hunter region, to Sev.en Global Investments, owned by Czech billionaire Pavel Tyka. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. The WHO annual guideline for PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3 is breached across the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area, and coal power station NOx is a significant contributor to this pollution. To learn more about how we use information collected with cookies, please read our Privacy Policy. Delta flagged early closure of Vales Point coal plant when it rejected Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. 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. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . . Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy,writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Heralds newsletter here, The Ages here, Brisbane Times here, and WAtodays here. 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. If the sale goes through, it will continue to pollute long past its slated 2029 closure date. 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. We will continue to invest in the station both for ongoing energy needs and for system security, said the spokesperson. We know that the emissions meet the National Environment Protection Measures for NOx, but weve got the environment groups position. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. Yalloun Power Station closure to put Newcastle's Vales Point in The announcement today by Original doesnt change Vales Points position, said the spokesperson. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. Brisbane-based energy consultant Trevor St Baker and coal baron Brian Flannery. These four units were known as 'A' Station, its capacity of 875 MW being the highest in New South Wales at the time. 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. 49 Vales Point Power Station Premium High Res Photos 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. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Vales Point Power Station Submission Guide - Nature Conservation Brian Flannery, Trevor St Baker sell Vales Point coal power plant to 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. Andy Saunders 1 year ago John John 1 year ago Andy Saunders 1 year ago EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. The REZ will not only attract investment in clean energy, it will also underpin the growth of new low-carbon industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia and metals production which the world is going to need as it decarbonises, Mr Crouch said. 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 Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. News and analysis for the clean energy economy. While the Chinese government has signalled it will restrict coal lending, the country has yet to formally limit its investment in coal plants, the IEEFA report said. It is also harmful to the environment. The energy and materials can be provided by either renewable power and water, orcoal and gas. A Morrison government plan to fund upgrades at the Vales Point coal fired power station fell through after the government offered insufficient funding for the upgrades to take place, with owners Delta Electricity warning the plant could close early, documents obtained under FOI show. Nitric oxide oxidises in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide. 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. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. One is electrolysis that uses electricity to split water, which can be powered by renewables in an emissions-free process and is known as green hydrogen. Owners of Vales Point power station turn down $8.7 million grant, blaming the Morrison government for taking too long to approve funds for turbine upgrades. He noted the deal includes a coal mine that supplies the 1320-megawatt Vales Point generator and that the plant is in good order. Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. Sev.en has reputation for keeping old and polluting power stations open longer than their use-by date and has indicated the same for Vales Point. 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. The power station's end of technical life is set for 2029. Thermochemical reactions drive the other two methods. This will benefit customers, employees and system security for all energyusers.. Delta Electricity turns down $8.7 million grant for Vales Point 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. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. 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 said it complies with the reduced limits for emissions imposed in December 2021 and noted that Vales Point has lower licence limits for NOx than some other generators in NSW such as AGL Energys Bayswater and EnergyAustralias Mt Piper plants. "We predict that gas power station output will fall by 78 per cent and coal output . As of 2021, the Vales Point Power Station emits more toxic nitrogen oxide pollutants than allowable under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2021 in order to continue to legally operate (or otherwise cease operating), the operator applied for an exemption under its licence 761,[8] which was granted on 15 December 2021 with a reduction variation and additional conditions imposed by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority. Vales Point Power Station sale completed Vales Point Power Station sale completed December 18, 2022 by Merilyn Vale Sev.en Global Investments has announced it has completed its acquisition of Delta Electricity Pty Ltd, the parent company of the Vales Point Power Station and the Chain Valley Colliery. The coal for Vales Point is delivered by conveyor and a balloon loop connection to the Main Northern railway line between Wyee and Morisset. 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. The pair, who famously bought the generator for $1 million from the NSW government in 2015 and then revalued it at $722 million two years later, agreed to sell their respective 50 per cent stakes in Delta Electricity, the owner of the plant, to the family company Sev.en Global Investments. Vales point already has an exemption licence to pollute over and above NSW emission controls. 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. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. Phone: 02 4352 6111 the practices of Delta Electricity, past and present that are driving a range of water pollution impacts in Lake Macquarie, the sale of the power station to Se.ven Global Investments, Closure planning, decontamination and rehabilitation. In an application to the EPA, the power stations owners had requested a further five-year license exemption which allowed for the emission of more than 800mg per cubic metre of nitrogen oxide (NOx) per day. Vales Point was originally equipped with three turbo-alternators of 200 MW supplied by the English Electric (unit nos. NSW taxpayers might have to pay some remediation costs associated with the closure of Origin Energy's Eraring coal-fired power station when it shuts down in 2025. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M.