COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS – ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS – AUSTRALIA

AGL under pump to hasten coal closures

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 27 : 18-Jul-19

Market Forces will press for AGL Energy to close its Loy Yang A and Bayswater coal-fired power stations ahead of schedule. The environmental activist group will put a resolution to AGL’s annual meeting in September, calling for both plants to be shut down in 2030. Will van de Pol of Market Forces says AGL’s plans to keep the plants operating well beyond this date are at odds with its stated support for the Paris climate agreement. Loy Yang A is slated to close in 2048, and Bayswater is due to be shut down in 2035.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, MARKET FORCES, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Greens push to ban $25bn coal industry

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Mar-19

Coal-fired power stations will be a key target of the Greens’ new climate policy, which will be released on 28 March. The Greens aim to ban both thermal coal mining and the use of coal to generate electricity, while it proposes to progressively reduce thermal coal export quotas with the goal of eventually phasing out an industry that is estimated to be worth about $25bn a year. The Coal Council of Australia has warned that up to 150,000 direct and indirect jobs could be at risk under the Greens’ policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, COAL COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

MP’s support for coal spot on

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-18

Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn has welcomed comments made by Labor MP Meryl Swanson in support of coal-fired power generation using low-emissions technology. Swanson recently toured high energy, low emissions power stations in Japan as part of a bipartisan delegation. Flynn says Australia should consider the construction of such power stations, noting that Japan accounts for about 60 per cent of Whitehaven’s thermal coal exports. However, Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler says HELE power stations are expensive to build and they produce more carbon emissions that gas-fired power stations.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COAL21, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Big Power says No to new fossil-fuel plant

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 4-Apr-18

Major electricity companies maintain that the construction of new coal-fired power stations is not economically viable, despite a push by some Coalition MPs. A spokesperson for EnergyAustralia says the company’s focus is on a "modern energy system" based on renewables and technology such as battery storage. Ben Skinner of the Australian Energy Council argues that clean-coal technology would not significantly reduce the "material carbon risk" of coal-fired power plants.

CORPORATES
ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GENEX POWER LIMITED – ASX GNX, ENGIE SA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

AGL refuses to budge on Liddell

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Sep-17

AGL Energy’ chairman Jerry Maycock has told the company’s AGM that selling the Liddell coal-fired power plant would be "challenging", while extending the ageing plant’s life would involve substantial costs. He also ruled out building a new coal-fired plant, arguing that such a plant may ultimately not be competitive as the cost of renewable energy and battery storage technology falls. Meanwhile, AGL CEO Andy Vesey is confident that partially replacing the Liddell plant’s output with renewables will not result in higher electricity prices. He also indicated that the Loy Yang A power station could be shut down ahead of schedule.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, MARKET FORCES

BHP clears the air on climate change disagreements

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 26 : 20-Sep-17

BHP Billiton executive Mike Henry says the resources group supports the recommendations of the Finkel Review, including the introduction of a Clean Energy Target. The head of BHP’s Australian minerals division adds that the company is of the view that reducing carbon emissions must be a key element of Australia’s energy policy, including the use of carbon capture and storage technology in coal-fired power generation. BHP’s position is at odds with that of the Minerals Council of Australia, which supports the construction of clean-coal power plants but without the use of carbon capture and storage solutions.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN COAL ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA-ISRAEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

New CET bid to extend life of coal-fired power

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-Sep-17

The Australian Government is hoping to secure agreement from backbenchers on a Clean Energy Target before the end of 2017. It is understood that the proposed CET includes provision for existing coal-fired power stations to have their operating lives extended, as well as the possibility of a new coal-fired power station to be funded by the $A5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Both the Government and the Australian Energy Market Operator are keen to ensure greater stability within the National Electricity Market.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, GREENSYNC PTY LTD, PJM

Labor tells Coalition on CET: we’re here to help

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 1-Sep-17

The Australian Government is aiming to finalise a Clean Energy Target by the end of 2017. The main hindrance to it doing so is a conservative backbench that wants "clean coal" to be included in the CET. Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler has indicated that the party would be willing to accept a CET that includes clean coal, arguably because it knows the chances of any new coal-fired power stations being built are non-existent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

New coal power flashpoint for PM

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Aug-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently ruled out government funding for the construction of high-energy, low-emissions coal-fired power plants. However, he has now given indications that such a project could potentially receive a government loan via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Some Coalition MPs are advocating the continued use of coal as part of Australia’s energy mix, as the Government prepares to decide its stance on a proposed clean energy target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Coal-fired power trade-off for new clean energy target

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Aug-17

With the Federal Government yet to take its amended energy policy to the Coalition partyroom, there are promising signs that gas prices are starting to come down. The Government has been able to get the Council of Australian Governments to agree to all but one of the Finkel energy review’s 50 recommendations, namely that of a clean energy target. It is believed that Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are willing to give a commitment to investing in "clean coal"-fired power plants in order to get the partyroom to approve a CET.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED