vales point power station closure

All rights reserved. Vales Point 'A' Station was decommissioned in 1989. Wikimedia. Mr St Bakers announcement came as the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report on Monday showing Chinese finance is increasingly stepping in as the lender of last resort for coal plants, as other banks take active measures to restrict their funding. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. 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. 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. Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy,writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. 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. 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. 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. The coal for Vales Point is delivered by conveyor and a balloon loop connection to the Main Northern railway line between Wyee and Morisset. 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. It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. Phone: 02 4352 6111 The Hunter Hydrogen Hub will drive new low carbon jobs and help to set up the regionfor the future, Mr Kean will say. On this basis, Delta respectfully and regrettably advises that it will not submit an application for UNGI grant for the proposed Vales Point power station efficiency upgrade project, Delta Electricity said. Vales Point is a coal-fired power station which supplies baseload electricity. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Find them all here. With only an approximately seven-year operating life now remaining, and a very weak wholesale electricity forward curve, we believe Yallourns permanent exit may still be even earlier than now planned, Goldman Sachs analyst Baden Moore said. These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. Mr St Baker, who bought Vales Point power station from the NSW Government for a song in 2015 and made $113 million in profit on the deal in 2017-18, has outlined plans for a new plant at Liddell or Vales Point as part of a $6 billion proposal for three coal-fired power stations in NSW and Victoria. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. Cooking with gas: How bad for your health is it, really? Vales point already has an exemption licence to pollute over and above NSW emission controls. Coal transport and infrastructure in Australia, Key developments in coal mining and power in Australia in 2012, Financing coal power stations in Australia, Underwriting New Generation Investments program, "Delivering affordable and reliable power", "Federal government shortlists upgrade of Vales Point power station turbine", https://www.gem.wiki/w/index.php?title=Vales_Point_A_power_station_(replacement)&oldid=241402, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. 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. Its like selling an unregistered car. 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. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. 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. Victoria's potential crunch comes with the 2028-29 closure of the Yallourn power plant in the. We oppose this sale as it is NOT in the local, state or national interest: Cockle Creek Power Station was located in Teralba, New South Wales, Australia on the banks of Cockle Creek. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. 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. 15 December 2021. 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. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW. 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. 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. We already have really low NOx emissions, lower than Bayswater and Mt Piper, and we are doing operational changes, and we believe that we will meet whatever the requirements are going to be.. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. [1], In 2017 it was valued at $732 million, and was estimated to make part-owner energy entrepreneur and former National Party candidate Trevor St Baker a half billionaire. The region has significantly higher than national rates of six cancers: Colorectal (14% higher), Head & Neck (26%), Kidney (23%), Liver (26%), Lung (28%) and Pancreatic (17%). Its coal. It was a good letter from Anne Aldcroft (CCN380) regarding dog owners not doing their duty. The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. Read our Privacy Policy. the nominal closure of Vales Point . Delta Coal which supplies Vales Point have an active proposal to continue mining largely exploited seams under the lake and ash dump until 2029 and community fears over worsening pollution impacts from this aging facility under this potential new ownership have been made public. In December 2017, Origin Energy announced that it would close the . Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. 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. 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. 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. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. Feb 18, 2022 - 5.07pm. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. The sale price was not included in the press statement released on Saturday, December 17. Access unlimited content, the digital versions of our print editions - Today's Paper, as well as the Newcastle Herald app. 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. Description. Its members include residents and health professionals. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. 1 to 3) and one of 275 MW supplied by Associated Electrical Industries (unit no. Sev.en has shown a clear interest in energy businesses in Australia, ensuring that it is well-placed to provide reliable generation through the energy transition, he said. The Morrison governments low emissions investment road map is technology neutral which meanspublic funding is availableto green and blue hydrogen. offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. 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. Vales Point uses salt water from Lake Macquarie for cooling. The sale, which was handled by RBC Capital Markets, takes Mr St Baker out of coal power at a sizeable profit on paper. 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. 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. Health at GoPetition. 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. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. DPE is currently assessing an application by Delta to consolidate and expand its Chain Valley and Mannering collieries. 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. (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. Under . At Delta, which supplies about 11 per cent of NSWs power, RBC is thought to have run a process to sell either 50 per cent or 100 per cent, with Mr St Baker originally keeping open an option to retain his stake. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. But Delta managing director Greg Everett described the objections raised about the time limits for its application for an exemption as an administrative interpretation issue, not an environmental one. Its also unknown how the sale will impact the rehabilitation responsibilities for the power station ash dumps, she said. We call on Federal Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers and the NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy, the Hon Matt Kean, to refuse the proposed sale of Vales Point Power Station to Czech company Sev.en. Coal is carbon. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Transitioning the Hunter and Central Coast from a fossil fuels manufacturing base to one of renewable generation is underway. 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. The power stations end of technical life is set for 2029. [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]. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. It produces about four per cent of the electricity supplied to consumers in the National Electricity Market. AGL Energy announced it would move the. 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. 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. 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. [5] The balloon loop opened in March 1980. Email: info@de.com.au, {"type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":16,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":-33.161011600000002,"lon":151.5452521,"icon":""}]}. The project was moved to Vales Point Power Station in 2012, after Munmorah closed. Several coal-fired plants in New South Wales have brought their closure dates forward. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. 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 Level 7 For fossil fuel production to be clean carbon capture has to be tacked on to capture the emissions. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. 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. A spokesperson for Delta Energy said there were no plans for Vales Point to go the same way as Eraring. It is acidic, has an unpleasant odour and is highly corrosive. 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 EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels. Every time an old coal-fired power stations closes to be replaced by renewable energy, theres an immediate health benefit to communities within 100 kilometres of the facility, Dr Ewald said. 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. [9][10][11], Vales Point Power Station was used as the location for the Midnight Oil US Forces music video.[12][13]. We know that the emissions meet the National Environment Protection Measures for NOx, but weve got the environment groups position. 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. The expectation has been that the power station would close in 2029 and the clean-up could begin., Vales Point on southern Lake Macquarie stayed in government hands until 2015, when the Coalition state government controversially sold it to energy entrepreneurs Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery for $1 million., 167 Parry Street,Hamilton East, NSW, 2303, AboutCampaigningResearch & ReportsSubmissionsVolunteerHCEC NewsMedia ReleasesEventsContact UsCommittee Records, Barrington - Hawkesbury Climate Corridors Alliance, Water pollution Datawatch: NSW power stations. 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. 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. Hydrogen is a rare element which means it needs to be manufactured. It is not what the community wants, because of climate change, and because of the environmental impacts of coal-fired power on our health. 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. It also followed a dramatic increase in fine particle pollutionconfirmed by Vales Points own data in 2017. The map below shows the location of the plant, near Mannering Park, New South Wales. (NB only name and email is required to sign the petition - contact details are optional), You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it. In our view, the risk of accelerating coal generation closures is increasing as the market makes room for the rapid addition of renewable generation.. 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. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . Read more:The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future. 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 Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. Brisbane-based energy consultant Trevor St Baker and coal baron Brian Flannery. The deal comes amid an extended period of turbulence in baseload power generation in the National Electricity Market as cheap renewable energy flowing on to the grid makes it harder to operate baseload coal plants profitably, even amid surging prices for wholesale electricity.