In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Heralds newsletter here, The Ages here, Brisbane Times here, and WAtodays here. USE is forecasted to be greater than the reliability standard from 2027-28 in New South Wales, increasing further from 2029-30 when Vales Point Power Station is expected to retire. 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. NSW EPA Chief Tony Chappel said the exemption, coupled with the requirement to cut emissions strikes the right balance between safeguarding environmental health and supporting NSWs need for reliable and affordable energy. In December last year, Vales Point was issued with an order to limit its emissions of nitrogen oxide. 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. 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. 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. Feb 18, 2022 - 5.07pm. Vales Point Power Station Submission Guide - Nature Conservation Anger as public funds extend life of dirty Vales Point power station Vales Point sale HCEC 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. 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. However. 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. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. 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 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. 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. Vales Point Power Station exemption application 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. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. 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. These are known as blue hydrogen. 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 transaction still needs to be completed, with approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board outstanding. and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. Please try again later. The coal for Vales Point is delivered by conveyor and a balloon loop connection to the Main Northern railway line between Wyee and Morisset. 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. 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. It is also harmful to the environment. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. 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. 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. Kean confirmed exemptions granted to Delta during the purchase including a cap of $10m on rehabilitation likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars would remain in place despite the sale. 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. Brian Flannery, Trevor St Baker sell Vales Point coal power plant to Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates, sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, seeking approval to pay a senior barrister. Transitioning the Hunter and Central Coast from a fossil fuels manufacturing base to one of renewable generation is underway. 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. 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. 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. Wikimedia. We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. AGL said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. 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. Coal is carbon. 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. 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. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. The energy and materials can be provided by either renewable power and water, orcoal and gas. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW. 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 But Tom Allen, director of Australian energy and utilities research with UBS, said the markets focus would be on the long-term viability of black coal-fired generators in NSW, particularly amid the NSW governments plan to ramp up renewable energy investment, which will place prices under further pressure. Hydrogen is a rare element which means it needs to be manufactured. 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. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. Eraring and Vales Point power stations could be running multi-million dollar annual losses by 2025, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report found. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. 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. (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. We care about the protection of your data. In the context of the confluence of the above factors, Delta will not pursue the Vales Point power station efficiency project. 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 Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. Mr St Bakers proposal for a singleNSW plant and two new power stations in Victorias Latrobe Valleywas slammed by environment and community groups, who said the high-efficiency, low-emission plants were only one-third less polluting than highly polluting old power stations on the proposed sites. NSW power station given shorter deadline on emissions It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). 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 ? Whoever owns these assets, I want to make sure they are acting in the interests of the citizens of this state, not for vested interests, he said. 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. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. 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%). 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "Hundreds of thousands of people living near Australia's largest power station do not know what they are breathing," the report states. The power stations end of technical life is set for 2029. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. Early closure of Australia's largest coal-fired plant could create 4 was brought into use in 1966. 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. 15 December 2021. 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. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. 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. We know that the emissions meet the National Environment Protection Measures for NOx, but weve got the environment groups position. Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. The power station doesnt currently have a valid air pollution licence. If Vales Point power station is allowed to operate beyond 2029, we know it will have continued serious consequences for the health of the community. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. AGL Energy announced it would move the. Leading Edge Energy is an energy brokerage firm in Australia that specialises in energy cost reduction, solar and storage procurement, electricity and natural gas-use monitoring and reporting for commercial and industrial clients. [3], In September 2022 Sunset Power owners announced the sale of Vales Point Power Station to a Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments.[4]. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. The Lake Macquarie community and the Lake itself has long suffered as a result of pollution from the Vales Point power station. [2] However, in December 2021, the value of the plant was cut to $156 million and the annual profit was reduced 93% to $9.3 million. 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 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 The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. 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. Subsequently, St Baker stated that the shortlisted project was for 20 MW upgrades of the two existing turbines at the Vales Point B plant. Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the results of the registration of interest showed that the region was set to reap the jobs and investment rewards from the transformation of the energy system. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. 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. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. (NB only name and email is required to sign the petition - contact details are optional), You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it. Brisbane-based energy consultant Trevor St Baker and coal baron Brian Flannery. 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 facility is old, dirty, and poorly maintained. 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. 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. Description. 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.. 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. It is not what the community wants, because of climate change, and because of the environmental impacts of coal-fired power on our health. 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. It is acidic, has an unpleasant odour and is highly corrosive. 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. 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. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. 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. 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. Health at GoPetition. The owner blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for reducing demand and an influx of cheaper renewables reducing wholesale electricity prices. Cockle Creek Power Station - Wikipedia Phone: 02 4352 6111 In its home market, it runs two coal power generators and two combined heat and power plants. 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 combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. Currently the sale is under investigation by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) with its decision to be announced in mid-October 2022. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. 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. 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. News and analysis for the clean energy economy. We do not want this in foreign hands. The power stationed operated from 11 March 1927 until March 1976. Significant places & items of interest in the, New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, "NSW government sells Vales Point power station for $1m", Australian Financial Review (Subscription Required), "Vales Point power station privatisation put before auditor-general", "Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station", "St Baker and Flannery cash in on Vales Point coal plant in sale to Czechs", "Vales Point Power Station emission exemption application open for public comment", "New Vales Point pollution controls don't go far enough for environment groups", "Environment & Heritage | POEO Licences, Application and Notice Detail", "Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January", Electricity Commission of New South Wales, EnergyAustralia (state government enterprise), Sydney County Council (Sydney Electricity), List of power stations in New South Wales, Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vales_Point_Power_Station&oldid=1112958126, Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Thermal power station articles using Infobox power station, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, New England County Council (New England Electricity), North West County Council (North West Electricity), Northern Riverina County Council (Northern Riverina Electricity), Northern Rivers County Council (Northern Rivers Electricity), Peel-Cunningham County Council (PCCC Electricity), Shortland County Council (Shortland Electricity), Southern Mitchell County Council (Southern Mitchell Electricity), Southern Riverina County Council (Southern Riverina Electricity), Southern Tablelands County Council (Southern Tablelands Electricity), This page was last edited on 29 September 2022, at 00:23.
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