Custom Content. 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. 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. 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. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. To learn more about how we use information collected with cookies, please read our Privacy Policy. Records date back to 2011. The study also criticized the absence of air pollution monitoring within 25 km of Eraring and the nearby Vales Point power station. . 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. 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. Delta Coal which supplies Vales Point have an active proposal to continue mining largely exploited seams under the lake and ash dump until 2029 and community fears over worsening pollution impacts from this aging facility under this potential new ownership have been made public. 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. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. The sale price was not included in the press statement released on Saturday, December 17. the nominal closure of Vales Point . Leading Edge Energy is proud to be a signatory of the National Customer Code for Energy Brokers, Consultants and Retailers. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. That, environment groups say, has given new urgency for the NSW Environment Protection Authority to clarify the legality of a pollution exemption provided to the plant late last year. (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. News and analysis for the clean energy economy. 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. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . The NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. 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. The largest coal plant in the state AGLs 2880 MW Eraring Power Station, will be closed in 2025. 15% of Wyong and 11% of Gosford population suffer from 3 or more chronic health conditions including asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, compared to 5% or less across Sydney. For fossil fuel production to be clean carbon capture has to be tacked on to capture the emissions. Lake Macquarie Home Fishing Fishing closures, restrictions and permits Lake Macquarie The above closures are generated from the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2019 unless otherwise specified. 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. Its also unknown how the sale will impact the rehabilitation responsibilities for the power station ash dumps, she said. As outlined in the budget speech and subsequent announcement, the budget allocation has a funding cap of $8.7m, which is below that which Delta requested, leaving a substantially higher quantum of funding by Delta, Delta said in the letter. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. 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. 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. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. Mannering Park Progress Association spokesperson Sue Wynn said a new coal-fired power station at Vales Point was the worst news Mannering Park and surrounding areas could possibly hear. Vales Point 'A' Station was decommissioned in 1989. Coal supplies NSW with an average of 63 percent of its energy requirements, while the National Energy Market average is 59 percent. 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. 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. 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. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). Granted in December last year, the exemption allows the operators to emit a higher level of nitrogen oxide than usually allowable under clean air regulations. The Morrison governments low emissions investment road map is technology neutral which meanspublic funding is availableto green and blue hydrogen. To disable your cookies, please click on Settings. Delta said it complies with the reduced limits for emissions imposed in December 2021 and noted that Vales Point has lower licence limits for NOx than some other generators in NSW such as AGL Energys Bayswater and EnergyAustralias Mt Piper plants. 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. By 2050, green hydrogen has the potential to drive $350 billion in investment across Australia in current dollars and up to $26 billion per year in additional GDP, supporting the emergence of new decarbonised industries such as green steel and ammonia.. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. 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. It also followed a dramatic increase in fine particle pollutionconfirmed by Vales Points own data in 2017. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. As owners for the last eight years, Esprey and St Baker Family Trust have positioned the business to continue essential operations through the energy transition, but recognise that there are opportunities to grow the business and that this can be better accomplished in a portfolio with Sev.ens other base-load capable generation interests, he said. 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. Vales Point power station is a major source of NOx on the Central Coast and beyond. The WHO annual guideline for PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3 is breached across the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area, and coal power station NOx is a significant contributor to this pollution. 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. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. 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. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. It produces about four per cent of the electricity supplied to consumers in the National Electricity Market. Mr Taylor set a January 23 deadline for 24 hour baseload reliable projects eligible for government underwriting. 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.. The announcement today by Original doesnt change Vales Points position, said the spokesperson. . Hoping that this means by 2029 transporting and storage of toxic coal dust via the eyesore transport chanel located over Rutleys road will cease and be dismantled ? Please try again later. 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. 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. 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. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. Australia's fleet of coal-fired power stations are aging and many are due for decommissioning, and are being replaced by a combination of mostly renewable energy. 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". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The sale, which was handled by RBC Capital Markets, takes Mr St Baker out of coal power at a sizeable profit on paper. 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. Read more:The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future. (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 is acidic, has an unpleasant odour and is highly corrosive. 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. Correspondence obtained by RenewEconomy through a freedom of information request shows that Delta Electricity cited ongoing policy uncertainty, questions about the long-term future of the plant and an inadequate funding offer from the Morrison government as reasons for cancelling proposed upgrades to Vales Point. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. 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? As of 2021, the Vales Point Power Station emits more toxic nitrogen oxide pollutants than allowable under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2021 in order to continue to legally operate (or otherwise cease operating), the operator applied for an exemption under its licence 761,[8] which was granted on 15 December 2021 with a reduction variation and additional conditions imposed by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority. 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. 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. We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. Subsequently, St Baker stated that the shortlisted project was for 20 MW upgrades of the two existing turbines at the Vales Point B plant. 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. 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. The EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels. 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. 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. In our view, the risk of accelerating coal generation closures is increasing as the market makes room for the rapid addition of renewable generation.. 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. Currently the sale is under investigation by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) with its decision to be announced in mid-October 2022. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. The decision by the EPA now allows for these conditions and limits to remain in Deltas Environmental Protection Licence, Delta spokesman Steve Gurney said. Sold for a song in 2015, the site is expected to be the subject of a new coal-fired power station proposal. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. In its home market, it runs two coal power generators and two combined heat and power plants. Under . AGL, rival Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia have all brought forward the dates for closure of coal-fired power stations since the start of 2021, triggering suggestions that some other coal generators may need to keep running for longer to keep electricity supply secure amid the rise of weather-dependent wind and solar power. We care about the protection of your data. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. But Tom Allen, director of Australian energy and utilities research with UBS, said the markets focus would be on the long-term viability of black coal-fired generators in NSW, particularly amid the NSW governments plan to ramp up renewable energy investment, which will place prices under further pressure. 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. 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 company had shown a commitment to the sector and an ambition to expand, both in Australia and globally. 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. Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates, sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, seeking approval to pay a senior barrister. @ Copyright RenewEconomy 2020. 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. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. Its like selling an unregistered car. Environment groups say an ageing coal-fired power station in New South Wales that sold for hundreds of millions of dollars may be operating in breach of the states clean air laws. 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 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. 287 Elizabeth Street We oppose this sale as it is NOT in the local, state or national interest: 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. 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. 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. Its members include residents and health professionals. Delta Electricity has stated that Vales Point's "nominal closure" is due in 2029. . Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Vales Point Power Plant is owned by Delta Electricity, but in September the company announced that the plant is being sold to Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments. Recent state government announcements in Queensland and Victoria look to cut coal generation out of the energy mix as soon as possible. We will not spam you or sell your details. . 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. Mr St Baker said he was looking for international investors after Australian banks and major lenders ruled out exposure to coal project funding, in part because of climate change stranded asset risks. 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. . We will continue to invest in the station both for ongoing energy needs and for system security, said the spokesperson. The energy and materials can be provided by either renewable power and water, orcoal and gas. This week Delta Electricity announced it sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, located in the states Hunter region, to Sev.en Global Investments, owned by Czech billionaire Pavel Tyka. Unit no. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. The only way to educate irresponsible people is to hit them in the pocket, Central Coast Council will amend planning controls to make way for a five-storey development on six consolidated parcels of land at 43-46 The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach, despite receiving 95 submissions, Parking at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals will be free for patients, staff and visitors if either the Labor party or the sitting Liberal-National parties are elected to Govern on March, Copyright Coast Community News 2022 - Phone 4325 7369, Free hospital parking says Labor, Libs and Nats post election, Umina Beach singer eliminated from Australian Idol, Mariners appoint A-League Womens head coach Emily Husband, Council amends planning controls to make way for five-storey development at Ettalong, Labor puts people with disability at core of its agenda, Councils development application blowout woes, Council set to sell commuter/shopper carparks at Woy Woy, on "Eraring closure has no impact on future of Vales Point", Little being done to protect health of northern residents, Council slated for misleading statements over boarding house, Major parties outline plans to take the region into the future, Detached houses decline in favour of multi-unit abodes, Government funding for new cabins at two holiday parks, Review of health care services at Long Jetty centre, The go-to guide for community services across the Coast, Special exhibition brightens hospital corridors.
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