Electricity producers cut emissions

Sydney Morning Herald
3 March 2011, Page: 9

BIG electricity generators reduced their emissions of greenhouse gases last financial year but still dominate the corporate sector's carbon footprint, according to the latest federal government statistics. The national greenhouse and energy figures, released last week, show a handful of electricity generators were responsible for nearly half the annual greenhouse gas emissions reported by 300 companies and large government owned businesses.

The country's 10 biggest electricity generation companies reported emitting 162.8 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent gases in 2009/10, a 4.8% decrease on the previous financial year. The largest emitters outside the electricity sector were the steelmaker Blue-Scope Steel, miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata, the gas producer Woodside Petroleum and aluminium producer Alcoa.

Each of these companies reported more than 6 million tonnes of direct emissions directly generated from their own production activities and not including indirect emissions from their use of electricity. The biggest corporate emitter was International Power, which operates Victoria's brown coal fired Hazelwood power station and Loy Yang power station along with power stations in South Australia and Western Australia.