No need to do the dirty on coal power stations

The Australian
November 01, 2006

FOR years, Victoria's fertile Latrobe Valley has been the power equivalent of El Dorado, thanks to the seams of cheap brown coal under its green fields that are sufficient to power the state for 500 years. But these days it is tarnished by climate change, because while its brown coal is cheap, it is also extremely dirty. The high moisture content of the coal makes the Latrobe power stations among the worst offenders for greenhouse gas emissions.

And firmly in the sights of green groups is the 1600MW Hazelwood power station, one of the most intensive emitters in the valley, but one that supplies up to 25 per cent of Victoria's power. The Bracks Government enraged green groups last year by approving an expansion of its coal mine, extending the life of the power station to about 2031.

Green groups are demanding that Hazelwood, which is owned by British power company International Power, be shut down from 2010, arguing that by then there would be enough new wind, gas and solar power to fill the hole left by Hazelwood - when combined with measures to curb demand.

And this week they got more ammunition in the form of Britain's 700-page Stern report, which estimated the social cost of emitting carbon dioxide at $US85 ($110) a tonne. That means the 17million tonnes of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere at Hazelwood cost the world $US1.44 billion a year.

"The message is clear: there is a huge cost of the pollution that a power station like Hazelwood is causing," said Greenpeace energy campaign chief Mark Wakeham.

But for the communities of the valley, simply shutting down Hazelwood, is the wrong answer. For a start, 800 staff and contractors would lose jobs. "You can't take Hazelwood out of the equation. What are you going to do, go back to kerosene lamps?" said John Guy, 68, a 30-year veteran of the Latrobe power industry.

For Mr Guy, chairman of community and business group Advance Morwell, the best option is to clean coal emissions with new technologies. "We have a fantastic resource here, and research and development may go a long way to making that a clean fuel," he said.

The federal Government has earmarked $205 million for cleaning coal emissions. One of the first grant winners was Hazelwood's pilot plan to commercialise technology to dry its coal before burning it, which could cut plant emissions by close to 50 per cent.

International Power spokesman Jim Kouts said calls to close the plant were short-sighted. "We are committed to finding solutions to reducing emissions and that is the way forward."