The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.James Whelan Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing "closure potential". 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. News and analysis for the clean energy economy. However. The power stations end of technical life is set for 2029. Leading Edge Energy is proud to be a signatory of the National Customer Code for Energy Brokers, Consultants and Retailers. 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. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. The sale reportedly netted Delta $200m despite the company paying only $1m to buy it from the NSW government in 2015, prompting the states opposition to accuse the Coalition of having dudded taxpayers over the sale. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. We call on Federal Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers and the NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy, the Hon Matt Kean, to refuse the proposed sale of Vales Point Power Station to Czech company Sev.en. Leading Edge Energy is an energy brokerage firm in Australia that specialises in energy cost reduction, solar and storage procurement, electricity and natural gas-use monitoring and reporting for commercial and industrial clients. Victoria Energy Policy Centre director Bruce Mountain said the Victorian government had struck an entirely sensible deal with EnergyAustralia to bring forward closure at Yallourn, which provided a long lead time of seven years for the market to fill gaps in power supply by 2028. Read more:The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future. Newcastle GP andpublic health academic Dr Ben Ewaldsaiddata from existing Hunter and Central Coast power stations provided more evidence of the need to replace old coal-fired power stations with renewable energy. These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. Given that the ongoing operation of the Vales Point power station remains subject to market forces, and noting the current forecast closure date of 2029 may come forward or be deferred on the strength of these market forces, the benefits arising from the remaining life of Vales Point power station and the proposed project have been diminished by the passage of time, Delta said. 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. 4), for a total of 875 MW. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected a proposal to sell the site as they have their own plans to redevelop the site. Billionaire Trevor St Baker will reignite plans for a 20-year extension of NSW's Vales Point coal power station amid fears the early closure of Origin Energy's giant Eraring plant may lead to market volatility and higher prices. He dismissed the suggestion that Vales Point would close earlier than 2029, particularly given the impending closure of its near neighbour, Liddell Power Station, in 2023. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. In December 2017, Origin Energy announced that it would close the . 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. AGL Energy announced it would move the. To disable your cookies, please click on Settings. Coal plants list deadlines when their operating life is set to cease, but Dr Mountain said Victoria has secured a valuable guarantee that Yallourn will be available to produce until 2028, and if the company brings forward closure the state will receive compensation. Solar feed-in tariffs cut again, despite much higher wholesale grid prices, How to double your old homes energy rating: Lessons from two efficiency retrofits, All-electric Polestar doubles sales, boosts margins as it prepares more EV models, EV battery recycler hits 95% recovery rate in world-first collection program, Electric vehicles grab record 6.8 pct share of Australia market as Tesla rules again. Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the results of the registration of interest showed that the region was set to reap the jobs and investment rewards from the transformation of the energy system. 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. 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. The power station doesnt currently have a valid air pollution licence. Currently the sale is under investigation by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) with its decision to be announced in mid-October 2022. On the international front the Morrison government has committed $70 million to help develop a regional hydrogen export hub, and Australia has signed agreements with Japan, Korea, Germany and Singapore to investigate hydrogen supply chains. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. Its been a double whammyin the last couple of days first Wallarah 2, which is the Central Coasts Adani, and now this, another coal-fired power station proposal., Read more:Department of Planning gives green light for Vales Point solar energy project. 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. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. Unit no. 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. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. Sep 18, 2022 - 3.16pm Energy entrepreneur Trevor St Baker and coal investor Brian Flannery will sell their Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW for several hundred million dollars to. We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. 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. Delta Energys 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 Australias largest power station seven years early. (NB only name and email is required to sign the petition - contact details are optional), You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it. 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. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. It is not what the community wants, because of climate change, and because of the environmental impacts of coal-fired power on our health. The proposal isin response to Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylors call in September for 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. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . In 2021, the Vales Point Power Station emitted more toxic nitrogen oxide pollutants than allowable under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2021. The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. At home, the National Energy Resources Australia is offering $1.7 million in seed funding for hydrogen business to set up industry hubs, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has a $300 million fund for hydrogen projects - including those powered by fossil fuels, and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has $70 million available for green hydrogen projects. 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. It has previously been reported that the EPA briefed the states environment minister, James Griffin, over concerns about the exemption, as well as seeking approval to pay a senior barrister for advice on the legality of the exemption. Stop the Sale of Vales Point Power Station and Close It Down, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers & NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. 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. These are known as blue hydrogen. Its a two years exemption, then we can apply for another period of time. 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. Analysts identified particular economic risk for Vales Point coal power near Newcastle, the same region where NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean will today announce a $70 million fund to grow a green hydrogen industry, which he said would bring jobs and growth to the region. Vales Point 'A' Station was decommissioned in 1989. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. The map below shows the location of the plant, near Mannering Park, New South Wales. 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. Delta Electricity, which is jointly owned by Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery, announced early in 2019 that it was seeking support for the proposal from the Australian Government's Underwriting New Generation Investments program. The sale price was not included in the press statement released on Saturday, December 17. The role of Deltas Vales Point power station in two devastating fish kills that took place in mid-2002 in Wyee Bay are currently under investigation by the NSW EPA. 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. Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Energy analysts said the renewables-led collapse in average prices across the nations electricity grid was so severe that the 1480-megawatt facility supplying up to 22 per cent of the states power could close even sooner than expected. Recent state government announcements in Queensland and Victoria look to cut coal generation out of the energy mix as soon as possible. The grant was to pay for upgrades to a turbine at the Vales Point power station, increasing its thermal efficiency, allowing an additional 30MW of output for the same amount of coal burnt. The black coal operators run at a much higher short-run marginal cost and so those nearing the end of their technical lives may be re-evaluating their closure dates, Mr Allen said. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In our view, the risk of accelerating coal generation closures is increasing as the market makes room for the rapid addition of renewable generation.. If Vales Point power station is allowed to operate beyond 2029, we know it will have continued serious consequences for the health of the community. Its like selling an unregistered car. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. We will not spam you or sell your details. Nitric oxide oxidises in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide. Mr St Baker said Evie Networks was moving into a capital-intensive phase with the rollout of 300 fast charging stations around Australia, while he was also involved in developing e-mobility in the Philippines. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSWs energy. One uses gas and the other uses coal or gas, and for either to be a clean energy source they require carbon capture and storage to stop the emissions from the fossil fuels entering the atmosphere. The decision by the EPA now allows for these conditions and limits to remain in Deltas Environmental Protection Licence, Delta spokesman Steve Gurney said. Sev.en has reputation for keeping old and polluting power stations open longer than their use-by date and has indicated the same for Vales Point. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. 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. 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. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. In an open letter to the Newcastle Herald, eleven community environment groups from Lake Macquarie and the Hunter urge the Australian Treasurer, Jim Chalmers to reject the sale of the Vales Point power station for fear of worsening impacts. Energy Australia will close the Yallourn power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley in mid-2028, four years ahead of schedule, and build a giant battery instead. Email: info@de.com.au, {"type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":16,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":-33.161011600000002,"lon":151.5452521,"icon":""}]}. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. 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.. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . For fossil fuel production to be clean carbon capture has to be tacked on to capture the emissions. Australia is positioning itself to tap the potential boom in hydrogen fuel, if its adopted globally as a replacement for petroleum. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. Custom Content. Delta Electricity and Mr St Bakers Energy Innovation Fund did not respond to calls for comment. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. 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. Vales Point Power Station sale completed December 18, 2022 by Merilyn Vale Sev.en Global Investments has announced it has completed its acquisition of Delta Electricity Pty Ltd, the parent company of the Vales Point Power Station and the Chain Valley Colliery. Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. [2] However, in December 2021, the value of the plant was cut to $156 million and the annual profit was reduced 93% to $9.3 million. Vales Point was originally equipped with three turbo-alternators of 200 MW supplied by the English Electric (unit nos. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. NOx emissions can harm peoples health, contribute to respiratory illnesses and can cause asthma in children and the elderly. To learn more about how we use information collected with cookies, please read our Privacy Policy. In December 2021, the value of the power station was written down to $156 million and in September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. 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. 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. DPE is currently assessing an application by Delta to consolidate and expand its Chain Valley and Mannering collieries. 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. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. Every time an old coal-fired power stations closes to be replaced by renewable energy, theres an immediate health benefit to communities within 100 kilometres of the facility, Dr Ewald said. At the same time, embattled AGL Energy is struggling to determine its forward strategy and put in place a refreshed board after the collapse of a demerger plan and as its biggest shareholder, software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, pushes for a faster exit from coal power to align with the goals of the Paris climate accord. The combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. The analysis found if power prices continued to decline, Yallourn, along with the Eraring, Mt Piper, Vales Point B and Gladstone black coal plants would be making a loss by 2025. The power station's end of technical life is set for 2029. The big energy companies are also feeling the pressure from the Morrison government over the proposed closure dates for older coal-fired power stations. But Delta managing director Greg Everett described the objections raised about the time limits for its application for an exemption as an administrative interpretation issue, not an environmental one. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Heralds newsletter here, The Ages here, Brisbane Times here, and WAtodays here. In 2010, a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at Delta Electricity's now mothballed Munmorah power station was set for expansion, after receiving US$28 million in funding. Delta said it did not make financial sense to proceed with the upgrade with the smaller grant amount, given ongoing uncertainty in the energy market and the looming closure of the power station, currently slated for 2029. It leaves the Morrison governments UNGI program has still having supported no new generation investments, despite being first announced in October 2018, and announcing a dozen shortlisted projects more than two years ago. "Hundreds of thousands of people living near Australia's largest power station do not know what they are breathing," the report states. The EPA ruling has fuelled concerns that NSW may face an energy supply crunch in the coming years as coal swiftly exits the market. Mr St Bakers announcement came as the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report on Monday showing Chinese finance is increasingly stepping in as the lender of last resort for coal plants, as other banks take active measures to restrict their funding. The owners of the Hazelwood coal plant in the Latrobe valley only provided five months notice ahead of its closure in 2017, which delivered a big blow to the workforce and Victorias power prices. The Vales Point power station has been operating on the shores of Lake Macquarie since the 1960's and was constructed before NSW environmental protection laws came into effect. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. The coal for Vales Point is delivered by conveyor and a balloon loop connection to the Main Northern railway line between Wyee and Morisset. If the sale goes through, it will continue to pollute long past its slated 2029 closure date. 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. We already have really low NOx emissions, lower than Bayswater and Mt Piper, and we are doing operational changes, and we believe that we will meet whatever the requirements are going to be.. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. 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. Help using this website - Accessibility statement, Alinta Energys Hong Kong-based owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is understood, EnergyAustralias owner CLP Group, also based in Hong Kong, is in the market, AGL Energy is struggling to determine its forward strategy. Wholesale power prices are meanwhile several times higher than the $40-$45 megawatt-hour range that prevailed when he and billionaire partner Mr Flannery bought the generator. Energy entrepreneur Trevor St Baker and coal investor Brian Flannery will sell their Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW for several hundred million dollars to a private Czech firm in what represents a further upheaval in the fast-changing sector. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. 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. The script is starkly similar when it comes to water pollution from Vales Point, with offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. However. Please correct the marked field(s) below. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. Key points: Energy Australia will build a 350 megawatt, utility-scale battery in the Latrobe Valley by the end of 2026 The giant coal-fired Yallourn plant has been operating for 47 years Several coal-fired plants in New South Wales have brought their closure dates forward. The Liddel power station in the NSW Hunter is already set to close in 2023, but the report said at least one more closure in the state is likely before 2025. . The Stop the Sale of Vales Point Power Station and Close It Down petition to Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers & NSW Treasurer Matt Kean was written by Future Sooner and is in the category Meanwhile, EnergyAustralias owner CLP Group, also based in Hong Kong, is in the market for partnerships to support future investments to support the decarbonisation of the countrys third-largest power and gas supplier. 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. [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. Mr St Bakers proposal for a singleNSW plant and two new power stations in Victorias Latrobe Valleywas slammed by environment and community groups, who said the high-efficiency, low-emission plants were only one-third less polluting than highly polluting old power stations on the proposed sites. Commercial interest has been registered in 24 solar energy projects; 13 onshore and seven offshore wind energy projects; 35 large-scale batteries and eight pumped hydro projects. The Cockle Creek power station was built by Caledonian Collieries Limited between 1925 and 1927 to use low grade coal to provide power to Caledonian Collieries mines and the surrounding townships in both the . USE is forecasted to be greater than the reliability standard from 2027-28 in New South Wales, increasing further from 2029-30 when Vales Point Power Station is expected to retire. Mr . The EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels. We know that the emissions meet the National Environment Protection Measures for NOx, but weve got the environment groups position. This site uses "cookies" to give you the best experience on this website. Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. Delta also blamed ongoing regulatory and policy uncertainty, which it said, does not represent an appropriate investment environment.. 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. The first two units were completed in 1963, and the third in 1964. 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. The REZ will not only attract investment in clean energy, it will also underpin the growth of new low-carbon industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia and metals production which the world is going to need as it decarbonises, Mr Crouch said. 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. 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. Private owners net millions in sale of ageing coal-fired power station in NSW, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing closure potential. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity. 287 Elizabeth Street In an application to the EPA, the power stations owners had requested a further five-year license exemption which allowed for the emission of more than 800mg per cubic metre of nitrogen oxide (NOx) per day.