In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. 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. The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. The sale price was not included in the press statement released on Saturday, December 17. 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. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). AGL Energy announced it would move the. 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. The big energy companies are also feeling the pressure from the Morrison government over the proposed closure dates for older coal-fired power stations. 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? Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. Description. The operator applied for an exemption granted in December 2021 with a reduction variation and additional conditions imposed by the NSW Environment Protection Agency. . 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.. Under . 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 other legacies of coal power include environmental and community impact that cannot be ignored as the closure of power stations take place in NSW. 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. 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. Please try again later. Its members include residents and health professionals. 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. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . 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. 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. 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. These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. 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. 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. Origin Energys 2000 MW Liddell plant will close in early 2023. The transaction still needs to be completed, with approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board outstanding. The owner blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for reducing demand and an influx of cheaper renewables reducing wholesale electricity prices. 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. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. 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. 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. A spokesperson for Delta Energy said there were no plans for Vales Point to go the same way as Eraring. Local health professionals have analysed government health data and found shocking evidence of high cancer rates among residents in suburbs surrounding the power station and its coal ash dam each year an extra 107 cancer cases and 58 cancer deaths above the national average. 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. 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. [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. The pair, who famously bought the generator for $1 million from the NSW government in 2015 and then revalued it at $722 million two years later, agreed to sell their respective 50 per cent stakes in Delta Electricity, the owner of the plant, to the family company Sev.en Global Investments. 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. 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. 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. Vales Point A (replacement) power station is a proposal by Delta Electricity to build a new 660 MW plant on the site of the demolished Vales Point A plant in New South Wales, Australia. Its also unknown how the sale will impact the rehabilitation responsibilities for the power station ash dumps, she said. Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. We do not want this in foreign hands. Mr St Baker, who bought Vales Point power station from the NSW Government for a song in 2015 and made $113 million in profit on the deal in 2017-18, has outlined plans for a new plant at Liddell or Vales Point as part of a $6 billion proposal for three coal-fired power stations in NSW and Victoria. It is one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. 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. 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. Read more:The power station offloaded by the NSW Government for $1 million suddenly has a future. 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. 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. 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. 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 produces about four per cent of the electricity supplied to consumers in the National Electricity Market. NSW has committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the Hunter region is zoned for renewable energy development to help reach the goal. [citation needed], In November 2015, the Government of New South Wales sold Delta Electricity, which at that time owned only the Vales Point Power Station, to Sunset Power International for $1 million. Thermochemical reactions drive the other two methods. Access unlimited content, the digital versions of our print editions - Today's Paper, as well as the Newcastle Herald app. The Morrison governments low emissions investment road map is technology neutral which meanspublic funding is availableto green and blue hydrogen. Our Morning Edition newsletter is a curated guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. In a statement Mr St Baker highlighted the buyers commitment to growing the business. 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. 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. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. NSW is facing a potential shortage of reliable power as coal power stations shut down, with the closure of AGL Energy's Liddell plant in the Hunter Valley in April 2023 set to be followed. [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. 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. In addition to its stake in InterGen, which has interests in the Millmerran and Callide power stations in Queensland, Sev.en owns four gas-fired generators in the UK and one of the largest metallurgical coal producers in the US, called Blackhawk Mining. 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. Coal is carbon. (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. The combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. Invoice Validation & Network Tariff Analysis. To disable your cookies, please click on Settings. Future: Part of the Vales Point power station on the Central Coast. 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. [3], In September 2022 Sunset Power owners announced the sale of Vales Point Power Station to a Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments.[4]. 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. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. 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. As previously revealed by RenewEconomy, Delta told the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in December that it would not proceed with a formal application for $8.7 million in grant funding that had been set aside in the 2020 federal budget. The Hunter Hydrogen Hub will drive new low carbon jobs and help to set up the regionfor the future, Mr Kean will say. We will continue to invest in the station both for ongoing energy needs and for system security, said the spokesperson. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sydney, NSW 2000 September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. Leading Edge Energy is proud to be a signatory of the National Customer Code for Energy Brokers, Consultants and Retailers. It was a good letter from Anne Aldcroft (CCN380) regarding dog owners not doing their duty. 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. The coal-fired Vales Point power plant in New South Wales must cut nitrogen oxide emissions within two years or may face early closure after a ruling by the Environment Protection Authority. 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. The ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the New South Wales Central Coast, due to close in 2029, was given a stay of execution in the federal budget. Please correct the marked field(s) below. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. 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. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. 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Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. 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. 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.