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 black coal burned at Vales Point is more expensive than Yallourns brown coal, Mr Everett said, but Vales Point could be run with more flexibility to quickly ramp output up or down to better match demand limit production costs. 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. 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. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. 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 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 said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. 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. 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. 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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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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 is also harmful to the environment. Delta also blamed ongoing regulatory and policy uncertainty, which it said, does not represent an appropriate investment environment.. [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]. 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. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . 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. These are known as blue hydrogen. 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. DPE is currently assessing an application by Delta to consolidate and expand its Chain Valley and Mannering collieries. 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 Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that, unlike previous exemptions, this one cannot be extended beyond October 2027. Please try again later. The facility is old, dirty, and poorly maintained. Vales Point power station is a major source of NOx on the Central Coast and beyond. 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? 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. 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. NSW plant closures include the Vales Point power station, scheduled to shut in 2029-30. The study also criticized the absence of air pollution monitoring within 25 km of Eraring and the nearby Vales Point power station. However. The Hunter Hydrogen Hub will drive new low carbon jobs and help to set up the regionfor the future, Mr Kean will say. 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. 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 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. 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. [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. 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. We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. The EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels. Read our Privacy Policy. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. 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. 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. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday its Yallourn coal plant would close in 2028, four years ahead of the previous deadline. Environment Justice Australia and the Nature Conservation Council have questioned whether the renewal of a licence granting the plant operators exemptions from some pollution standards for nitrogen oxide is valid because, they say, Delta applied for the renewal after the deadline. Description. Vales Point power station, also referred to as the Vales Point B power station, is a 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in New South Wales, Australia. 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. Future Sooner is a community action group working towards a clean energy future for the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. 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". We know that the emissions meet the National Environment Protection Measures for NOx, but weve got the environment groups position. 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. Its members include residents and health professionals. Kean confirmed exemptions granted to Delta during the purchase including a cap of $10m on rehabilitation likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars would remain in place despite the sale. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. (NB only name and email is required to sign the petition - contact details are optional), You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it. To disable your cookies, please click on Settings. 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. The transaction still needs to be completed, with approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board outstanding. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade. . It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . Access unlimited content, the digital versions of our print editions - Today's Paper, as well as the Newcastle Herald app. Vales Point provides 11% of NSW electricity. 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. 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 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. [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 owner blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for reducing demand and an influx of cheaper renewables reducing wholesale electricity prices. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. The report,China at a Crossroads: Continued Support for Coal Power Erodes Countrys Clean Energy Leadership,found Chinese financial institutions and corporations funded more than 25 per cent of all new coal plants outside China in 2018, or $35.9 billion for projects in 27 countries, excluding Australia. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity. 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. 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. 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. 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. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. 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 NSW Government has responded to the closure of Eraring by saying that to ensure energy reliability, it will work with industry partners to install the Waratah Super Battery, a 700MW/1400MWh grid battery, by 2025 to release grid capacity so Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong consumers can access more energy from existing electricity generation.. 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 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. It is understood that the joint owner of Delta, and significant political donor, Trevor St Baker, had been told informally in early 2020 that it was set to receive $11 million in grant funding from the Morrison government to fund the $20 million turbine upgrade. Im more interested now in what we are doing in electrifying the transport sector, absolutely critical steps forward in the rollout of charging infrastructure, he told The Australian Financial Review. 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. In February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised Liberal party donor and part owner Trevor St Baker that an $11 million grant would be going his way to make upgrades. Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. 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. There are three methods to extract hydrogen. Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January. These four units were known as 'A' Station, its capacity of 875 MW being the highest in New South Wales at the 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. A spokesperson for Delta Energy said there were no plans for Vales Point to go the same way as Eraring. All rights reserved. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. Health at GoPetition. 287 Elizabeth Street Level 7 Cooking with gas: How bad for your health is it, really? This will benefit customers, employees and system security for all energyusers.. The map below shows the location of the plant, near Mannering Park, New South Wales. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. 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. 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. [9][10][11], Vales Point Power Station was used as the location for the Midnight Oil US Forces music video.[12][13]. The power station's end of technical life is set for 2029. 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. Its coal. (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. 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. 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. 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. Environment groups question whether ageing stations exemptions from some pollution standards are valid. News and analysis for the clean energy economy. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. Its a two years exemption, then we can apply for another period of time. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. 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. 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 A Morrison government plan to fund upgrades at the Vales Point coal fired power station fell through after the government offered insufficient funding for the upgrades to take place, with owners Delta Electricity warning the plant could close early, documents obtained under FOI show. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. 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. 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. Nitric oxide oxidises in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide.
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