As the 21st century world climate-change debate rapidly heats up, brown-coal fired energy sources have become well and truly on the nose, and none more so than the archaic and heavily polluting Hazelwood Power Station.
The Hazelwood plant has become a target by many who advocate energy producing responsibility, and now the main owners of this antiquated power station, the French energy company ENGIE, are looking at decommissioning the plant in the near future.
Whilst no firm decision by ENGIE has been made to close the plant, the pressure is on from both the environmental groups and community concerns over health issues of the Hazelwood complex. ENGIE, is expected to hold a board meeting on October 19 or 20 to finalise a decision as to possibly closing the aging brown coal-fired plant.
According to Fairfax media – “The ENGIE company has already told the state government it is likely to close the plant, which supplies almost one-quarter of the state’s electricity, next year, potentially on April 1”.
In 1996 the Hazelwood complex was privatised by the Kennett government for A$2.35 billion.
Presently the French company ENGIE holds a 72 per cent stake in the plant, with the remaining 28 per cent owned by Japanese company Mitsui. It is highly speculated that had the Power station not been privatized the State Electricity Company Victoria would have shut it down by 2005.
Built between 1964 and 1971, Hazelwood Power Station 1542 megawatt plant supplies about 20% of the states base-load power and is responsible for up to 15 per cent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions and 3 per cent of national emissions when fully operational.
To date the Victorian government has been asleep at the wheel, and oblivious to widespread belief that to phase out Brown-coal energy generation is a responsible and future action as to address the global warming issue.
A transitional change in the Latrobe Valley would be a major concern for the Victorian government with a certain and somewhat immediate loss of at least 1000 jobs, in a region that already has an unemployment levels nearing 20 per cent.
Such a transition lays an opportunity for the development of a grand renewable energy project that would direct Victoria towards the futuristic direction it will inevitably have to take. A massive solar photo-voltaic development would not only supply future energy needs, but would stimulate the local economy through employment opportunities.
Energy and Coal supply
Analysts claim the electricity market has more than enough generation capacity to cope with Hazelwood’s removal. In 2014, the Australian Energy Market Operator estimated there was 7400 megawatts of surplus capacity.
Victoria holds 430 billion tonnes of brown coal, and the annual production of this is about 68 million tonnes, with over 98% being mined from the Latrobe Valley Victoria. Australia produces about 7% of the world’s brown coal and is ranked fifth largest after Germany (21%), Russia (10%), Turkey (9%) and USA (8%)
Brown coal has a significantly lower carbon content and is higher in moisture content than black coal. It is a relatively soft material, which has a heating value only about one-quarter of that for black coal. Due to its high moisture content, brown coal emits more carbon dioxide than other coals, and because of its inefficiency it is the obvious fossil fuel source to eliminate as soon as we can!
More than just CO2 emissions
In February 2014, a fire at Hazelwood’s open-cut mine coal burnt for 45 days that blanketed nearby Morwell city in thick acrid smoke, which sparked health concerns among Latrobe Valley communities.
An inquiry into the fire found it was likely pollution from the fire had contributed to deaths in the area. A subsequent response from Latrobe City Council chief executive Gary Van Driel was “the Hazelwood plant’s closure was inevitable”
Hazelwood’s demise seems inevitable
Given the current trajectory of many other countries, renewable energy is a no-brainer when it comes to gazing into a crystal ball for the world’s future energy sources.
South Australia has already taken such an initiative with 40% renewables and has the potential to be almost totally operable with its energy infrastructure, given favourable wind and solar conditions.
China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is setting a global trend by shutting down around 1000 coal-fired power generation plants this year, and simultaneously suspend all new coal power plants.
Meanwhile Environment Victoria chief executive Mark Wakeham said “retiring Hazelwood is the single largest step that could be taken to clean up Australia’s energy supply”.
Let’s hope that Mark Wakeham’s vision happens pronto!
*Ted Mead is a committed advocate for renewable energy and has used photovoltaics to power his homes since the 1980’s. He continues to preference solar energy over wind energy in the belief that most mechanical reliant technology is still dinosaur technology. Ted is convinced that through advance innovative developments over the next few decades renewable energy will dominant the world, and micro grids will overtake base-load grid energy sourced from coal as consumer demand for independence prevails.
