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. 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 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. All rights reserved. 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. Publicly owned until 2015 when sold to Sunset International Power for $1 million, the deal capped the new owners site rehabilitation costs to just $10M. POWER magnate Trevor St Baker is expected to lodge a proposalwith the Federal Government today for a new Hunter or Central Coast coal-fired power station with a Chinese joint venture partner. 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. The power stationed operated from 11 March 1927 until March 1976. The combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. The ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the New South Wales Central Coast, due to close in 2029, was given a stay of execution in the federal budget. The Vales Point coal power station was sold by the NSW government in 2015 for just $1 million. 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. No need to search elsewhere for all the latest updates on the electricity market and energy-efficiency tips that are important for you, the savvy business owner. offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. We do not want this in foreign hands. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. 4), for a total of 875 MW. 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 transaction still needs to be completed, with approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board outstanding. NSW has committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the Hunter region is zoned for renewable energy development to help reach the goal. The owner blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for reducing demand and an influx of cheaper renewables reducing wholesale electricity prices. 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. Vales Point uses salt water from Lake Macquarie for cooling. As previously revealed by RenewEconomy, Delta told the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in December that it would not proceed with a formal application for $8.7 million in grant funding that had been set aside in the 2020 federal budget. 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. 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. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. 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. The NSW Government has responded to the closure of Eraring by saying that to ensure energy reliability, it will work with industry partners to install the Waratah Super Battery, a 700MW/1400MWh grid battery, by 2025 to release grid capacity so Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong consumers can access more energy from existing electricity generation.. 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. One is electrolysis that uses electricity to split water, which can be powered by renewables in an emissions-free process and is known as green hydrogen. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. 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. 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. 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. Vales Point 'A' Station was decommissioned in 1989. [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]. We care about the protection of your data. Phone: 02 4352 6111 Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. The power station's end of technical life is set for 2029. When there are renewable energy alternatives available, like the Star of the South project, that will generate clean energy and create local jobs, there is no excuse for building more, big polluting coal projects that pollute our air and make our communities sick, Ms Rivers said. Subsequently, St Baker stated that the shortlisted project was for 20 MW upgrades of the two existing turbines at the Vales Point B plant. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. . September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. 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. 1 to 3) and one of 275 MW supplied by Associated Electrical Industries (unit no. In December 2017, Origin Energy announced that it would close the . The energy and materials can be provided by either renewable power and water, orcoal and gas. (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. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. 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. 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. 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. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. 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. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. 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. Please try again later. 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. In 2022, an air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups, who argued that community health impacts of toxic air emissions - including childhood asthma and premature deaths were - being ignored, pointing out that Vales Point routinely breach NSW air protection laws. [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. NSW taxpayers might have to pay some remediation costs associated with the closure of Origin Energy's Eraring coal-fired power station when it shuts down in 2025. [5] The balloon loop opened in March 1980. The Toshiba 660 MW turbo-alternator became the standard in New South Wales, with similar units later being installed at Eraring, Bayswater and Mount Piper. On Tuesday the NSW energy minister, Matt Kean, declined to weigh in on whether the sale was appropriate, but said the government would remain vigilant over the plant operations. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSWs energy. 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. The project was moved to Vales Point Power Station in 2012, after Munmorah closed.