vales point power station closure

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. Access unlimited content, the digital versions of our print editions - Today's Paper, as well as the Newcastle Herald app. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. Owners of Vales Point power station turn down $8.7 million grant, blaming the Morrison government for taking too long to approve funds for turbine upgrades. 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. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Sydney, NSW 2000 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. 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. It is the second instance of the Morrison government failing to secure investment in new coal-fired generation infrastructure by offering insufficient funding support, following earlier revelations that the government had not provided sufficient grant funding to ensure proponents of a coal-fired power station in Queensland could complete a bankable feasibility study. The study also criticized the absence of air pollution monitoring within 25 km of Eraring and the nearby Vales Point power station. Delta flagged early closure of Vales Point coal plant when it rejected federal grant | RenewEconomy 1 year ago Kim Grierson 1 year ago 1 year ago Apparently NSW retained the decommissioning liabilities Andy Saunders 1 year ago Prices that make it profitable? Coal is carbon. 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. 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 proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. All rights reserved. Coal supplies NSW with an average of 63 percent of its energy requirements, while the National Energy Market average is 59 percent. Origin Energys 2000 MW Liddell plant will close in early 2023. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. . "Hundreds of thousands of people living near Australia's largest power station do not know what they are breathing," the report states. 4 was brought into use in 1966. 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. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. These four units were known as 'A' Station, its capacity of 875 MW being the highest in New South Wales at the time. 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. When queried, the department told RenewEconomy that the funding set aside in the budget was considered to represent value for money. who bought Vales Point power station from the NSW Government for a song in 2015, The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future, clean up a huge part of the power stations ash dam, a dramatic increase in fine particle pollution, Department of Planning gives green light for Vales Point solar energy project, NSW Ports labels Newcastle container terminal 'white elephant' in parliamentary inquiry submission, Former professional surfer Jake Sylvester rescues swimmer at Merewether Beach, Wollombi Music Festival bans Wicked camper vans, National Farmers Federation and Agriculture Minister slam Aussie Farms interactive map of Australian properties, Train replica gives Newcastle something to choo on, Jets captain questions referee calls in controversial loss to Wellington, Police seek help to find 59-year-old missing from West Wallsend, Four assaulted in armed home invasion by five men wearing balaclavas, Toohey's News: Twin Towers key to Knights' rebuild, Terms and Conditions - Digital Subscription, Terms and Conditions - Newspaper Subscription. The decision by the EPA now allows for these conditions and limits to remain in Deltas Environmental Protection Licence, Delta spokesman Steve Gurney said. The Vales Point coal power station was sold by the NSW government in 2015 for just $1 million. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. 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. Wikimedia. Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy,writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. We will continue to invest in the station both for ongoing energy needs and for system security, said the spokesperson. Alinta Energys Hong Kong-based owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is understood to have fielded approaches for the Australian business, which includes the large Loy Yang B coal power generator in Victoria. 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. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. The Lake Macquarie community and the Lake itself has long suffered as a result of pollution from the Vales Point power station. Its also unknown how the sale will impact the rehabilitation responsibilities for the power station ash dumps, she said. 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. 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. Delta chief executive Greg Everett said the proposed deal, which has yet to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, was a positive development for Delta and its stakeholders. Nitric oxide oxidises in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide. 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. He noted the deal includes a coal mine that supplies the 1320-megawatt Vales Point generator and that the plant is in good order. The combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. 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.. In addition to its stake in InterGen, which has interests in the Millmerran and Callide power stations in Queensland, Sev.en owns four gas-fired generators in the UK and one of the largest metallurgical coal producers in the US, called Blackhawk Mining. NOx emissions can harm peoples health, contribute to respiratory illnesses and can cause asthma in children and the elderly. 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 is one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . 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. [1], In 2017 it was valued at $732 million, and was estimated to make part-owner energy entrepreneur and former National Party candidate Trevor St Baker a half billionaire. Transitioning the Hunter and Central Coast from a fossil fuels manufacturing base to one of renewable generation is underway. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. 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. We use "cookies" to enhance your experience on our website. It is also harmful to the environment. 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. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. We do not want this in foreign hands. 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. Vales Point power station, also referred to as the Vales Point B power station, is a 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in New South Wales, Australia.