Minerals Council of Australia Backs Building New Brown Coal-Fired Power Plants in Victoria
By Matt Chambers
June 16, 2017 - The Minerals Council of Australia has backed the construction of a new brown coal-fired power plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley using the latest technology that it says is capable of driving emissions down by up to 40 percent.
In a policy paper issued today, the MCA warns of a looming gap in baseload power following this year’s closure of Hazelwood and the expected retirement of another 8,000MW of baseload power before 2030.
It urged the Federal Government not to penalise the latest brown coal power stations in its response to the Finkel Review and its recommendation of adopting a clean energy target.
“There is a need to start building new baseload power stations,” the report on “a low emissions coal future for the Latrobe Valley” said.
“Given the current gas market challenges in Eastern Australia, the Latrobe Valley offers a good option. Not only is the fuel source — brown coal — readily available, there is an existing and under-utilised power network system in place.”
The current German plant has emissions of about 0.9kg per kWh, while the proposed one is at 0.75kg per kWh.
“With a levelized cost of energy of around $55 to $65 per MWh, a similar power station located in the Latrobe Valley would offer the lowest cost new baseload power, significantly cheaper than gas or renewables and storage,” the MCA said.
“It would help place downward pressure on electricity prices, ensure reliability while also reducing emissions from the power sector.”
To finance a new plant, the MCA urged the government to consider making available Clean Energy Finance Corp funding for “high energy, low emissions” plants, like the ones built in Germany.
“A Clean Energy Target may provide a mechanism to drive investment, however ... the design and implementation details will be critical,” the MCA said, adding that a CET could still be altered by future governments.
“At the least, a CET must not exclude investment in low cost, low emission and highly reliable power sources like the latest brown coal technologies,” the MCA said.