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. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. Coal is carbon. 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 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. 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. It is one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. Future Sooner, local residents and health professionals are deeply concerned if this sale goes ahead it will extend the life of this filthy, old, polluting coal-fired power station and prolong the damage that is already affecting our health, said Gary Blaschke OAM, resident of Lake Munmorah, cancer sufferer and Future Sooner spokesperson. 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. Records date back to 2011. 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. Currently the sale is under investigation by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) with its decision to be announced in mid-October 2022. 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 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. Mr . If you want to be updated with all the latest energy sector news, you can sign up for our newsletter or visit our blog section. The decision by the EPA now allows for these conditions and limits to remain in Deltas Environmental Protection Licence, Delta spokesman Steve Gurney said. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy. 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. Proponents of renewable energy and some business leaders haveraised concerns that financial supportfor hydrogen production powered by fossil fuels could artificially prolong the operation of the nations ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations, or create demand for gas which would be better directed to wind and solar projects. The Vales Point coal power station was sold by the NSW government in 2015 for just $1 million. 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. 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. [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. Vales Point power station is a major source of NOx on the Central Coast and beyond. The sale, which was handled by RBC Capital Markets, takes Mr St Baker out of coal power at a sizeable profit on paper. Contents 1 Location 2 Background on Plant 3 Carbon capture project 4 Environmental Impact 4.1 Air pollution 4.2 Coal ash dam 5 Future shutdown date 6 Interest in buying Liddell coal plant 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 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. Delta Electricity and Mr St Bakers Energy Innovation Fund did not respond to calls for comment. Its a two years exemption, then we can apply for another period of time. . Correspondence obtained through an earlier FOI request shows that Delta Electricity and the department undertook negotiations throughout 2020, ahead of funding being awarded in the federal budget. Sign up to Guardian Australia's Morning Mail, Our Australian morning briefing email breaks down the key national and international stories of the day and why they matter. 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. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. 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. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. These four units were known as 'A' Station, its capacity of 875 MW being the highest in New South Wales at the time. 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. 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. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. Delta Coal which supplies Vales Point have an active proposal to continue mining largely exploited seams, ommunity fears over worsening pollution impacts from this aging facility under this potential new ownership, RSVP for updates and an invitation in 2023. Eraring is now scheduled for closure in 2025 and will leave Vales Point as the last electricity-generating station standing on Lake Macquarie, however, Vales Point is also scheduled for nominal closure in 2029. Under . Wikimedia. 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. Vales Point was originally equipped with three turbo-alternators of 200 MW supplied by the English Electric (unit nos. 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.. 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. 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. Unit no. 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. "We predict that gas power station output will fall by 78 per cent and coal output . The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. 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 region has significantly higher than national rates of six cancers: Colorectal (14% higher), Head & Neck (26%), Kidney (23%), Liver (26%), Lung (28%) and Pancreatic (17%). 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. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. It produces about four per cent of the electricity supplied to consumers in the National Electricity Market. Publicly owned until 2015 when sold to Sunset International Power for $1 million, the deal capped the new owners site rehabilitation costs to just $10M. air pollution exemption granted to Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA was successfully challenged by environment and legal groups. In its home market, it runs two coal power generators and two combined heat and power plants. With only an approximately seven-year operating life now remaining, and a very weak wholesale electricity forward curve, we believe Yallourns permanent exit may still be even earlier than now planned, Goldman Sachs analyst Baden Moore said. It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. . NSW plant closures include the Vales Point power station, scheduled to shut in 2029-30. the nominal closure of Vales Point . 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 other legacies of coal power include environmental and community impact that cannot be ignored as the closure of power stations take place in NSW. 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. Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said last month that the industrys potential cannot be ignored and argued that Australia can attract $70 billion of investments over the next decade. 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. We care about the protection of your data. 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. The project was moved to Vales Point Power Station in 2012, after Munmorah closed. 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. 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. He noted the deal includes a coal mine that supplies the 1320-megawatt Vales Point generator and that the plant is in good order. 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. 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. 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. 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 EPA has the chance to take a good look at this before issuing the new owners with a licence to pollute, she said. 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. 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. Description. Origin Energys 2000 MW Liddell plant will close in early 2023. 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. We will not spam you or sell your details. 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Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. The NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. DPE is currently assessing an application by Delta to consolidate and expand its Chain Valley and Mannering collieries. 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. 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. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSWs energy. 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. 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. 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. St Baker said that financing the projects would not be sought from Australian banks but instead would rely solely on international lenders. Please try again later. 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. 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. Vales point already has an exemption licence to pollute over and above NSW emission controls. It also followed a dramatic increase in fine particle pollutionconfirmed by Vales Points own data in 2017. 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. 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. 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 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. . Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . It is also gearing up to invest more in the business as it seeks approval for a license to allow mining to continue until 2029. The first two units were completed in 1963, and the third in 1964. 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. Thermochemical reactions drive the other two methods. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. . In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. The combined capacity of 2195 MW made Vales Point the largest power station in Australia at the time. [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. Vales Point 'A' Station was decommissioned in 1989. Its also unknown how the sale will impact the rehabilitation responsibilities for the power station ash dumps, she said. 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. Sold for a song in 2015, the site is expected to be the subject of a new coal-fired power station proposal. 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. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). 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. 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? Delta Electricity has stated that Vales Point's "nominal closure" is due in 2029. . In our view, the risk of accelerating coal generation closures is increasing as the market makes room for the rapid addition of renewable generation.. Several coal-fired plants in New South Wales have brought their closure dates forward. The power stations end of technical life is set for 2029. In December last year, Vales Point was issued with an order to limit its emissions of nitrogen oxide. 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. Health at GoPetition. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. 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. 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. 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 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. AGL said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. It was a good letter from Anne Aldcroft (CCN380) regarding dog owners not doing their duty. The value of the NSW coal power plant was cut to $156 million, down from $732 million in 2017 when power prices skyrocketed after the closure of the Hazelwood power station, documents. NOx emissions can harm peoples health, contribute to respiratory illnesses and can cause asthma in children and the elderly. Transitioning the Hunter and Central Coast from a fossil fuels manufacturing base to one of renewable generation is underway. Significant places & items of interest in the, New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, "NSW government sells Vales Point power station for $1m", Australian Financial Review (Subscription Required), "Vales Point power station privatisation put before auditor-general", "Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station", "St Baker and Flannery cash in on Vales Point coal plant in sale to Czechs", "Vales Point Power Station emission exemption application open for public comment", "New Vales Point pollution controls don't go far enough for environment groups", "Environment & Heritage | POEO Licences, Application and Notice Detail", "Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January", Electricity Commission of New South Wales, EnergyAustralia (state government enterprise), Sydney County Council (Sydney Electricity), List of power stations in New South Wales, Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vales_Point_Power_Station&oldid=1112958126, Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Thermal power station articles using Infobox power station, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, New England County Council (New England Electricity), North West County Council (North West Electricity), Northern Riverina County Council (Northern Riverina Electricity), Northern Rivers County Council (Northern Rivers Electricity), Peel-Cunningham County Council (PCCC Electricity), Shortland County Council (Shortland Electricity), Southern Mitchell County Council (Southern Mitchell Electricity), Southern Riverina County Council (Southern Riverina Electricity), Southern Tablelands County Council (Southern Tablelands Electricity), This page was last edited on 29 September 2022, at 00:23.

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