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. Lake Macquarie - Department of Primary Industries 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. Cockle Creek Power Station was located in Teralba, New South Wales, Australia on the banks of Cockle Creek. However. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSW's energy. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. 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. 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. 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. In our view, the risk of accelerating coal generation closures is increasing as the market makes room for the rapid addition of renewable generation.. [9][10][11], Vales Point Power Station was used as the location for the Midnight Oil US Forces music video.[12][13]. 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. Victoria's potential crunch comes with the 2028-29 closure of the Yallourn power plant in the. 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%). 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. Invoice Validation & Network Tariff Analysis. The largest coal plant in the state AGLs 2880 MW Eraring Power Station, will be closed in 2025. 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. It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. This site uses "cookies" to give you the best experience on this website. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing closure potential. St Baker said that financing the projects would not be sought from Australian banks but instead would rely solely on international lenders. We care about the protection of your data. The sale will facilitate this growth as Sev.en has shown a commitment to the sector and an ambition to expand, both in Australia and globally.. It is one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. At a budget estimates hearing last month, Stephen Beaman, a senior regulator at the EPA, said the agency would be finalising its position very shortly on the legality of the exemption. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. AGL said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. 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. and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. 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. At home, the National Energy Resources Australia is offering $1.7 million in seed funding for hydrogen business to set up industry hubs, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has a $300 million fund for hydrogen projects - including those powered by fossil fuels, and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has $70 million available for green hydrogen projects. Im more interested now in what we are doing in electrifying the transport sector, absolutely critical steps forward in the rollout of charging infrastructure, he told The Australian Financial Review. The EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels. The EPA ruling has fuelled concerns that NSW may face an energy supply crunch in the coming years as coal swiftly exits the market. Coal supplies NSW with an average of 63 percent of its energy requirements, while the National Energy Market average is 59 percent. Key points: Energy Australia will build a 350 megawatt, utility-scale battery in the Latrobe Valley by the end of 2026 The giant coal-fired Yallourn plant has been operating for 47 years Leading Edge Energy is proud to be a signatory of the National Customer Code for Energy Brokers, Consultants and Retailers. [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. The value of the NSW coal power plant was cut to $156 million, down from $732 million in 2017 when power prices skyrocketed after the closure of the Hazelwood power station, documents. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. He noted the deal includes a coal mine that supplies the 1320-megawatt Vales Point generator and that the plant is in good order. To learn more about how we use information collected with cookies, please read our Privacy Policy. 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. 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. 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. Under . It is also gearing up to invest more in the business as it seeks approval for a license to allow mining to continue until 2029. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. Vales Point Power Station sale completed 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.. 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. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. 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. 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. 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 WHO annual guideline for NOx of 10 ug/m3 (4.87 ppb) is regularly breached at monitoring sites close to the Vales Point power station. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW. 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. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. Early closure of Australia's largest coal-fired plant could create 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. For fossil fuel production to be clean carbon capture has to be tacked on to capture the emissions. 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. 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. 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. The Lake Macquarie community and the Lake itself has long suffered as a result of pollution from the Vales Point power station. 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 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. 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 . 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. (NB only name and email is required to sign the petition - contact details are optional), You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it. 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. 287 Elizabeth Street Brian Flannery, Trevor St Baker sell Vales Point coal power plant to Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. 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 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. Please correct the marked field(s) below. 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 ? In its home market, it runs two coal power generators and two combined heat and power plants. 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.