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. 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.. 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. 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. 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. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. But it also represents a significant expansion of Sev.en in Australias coal power sector beyond its interest in Queenslands InterGen, with the suggestion that further investments in the domestic energy sector may be on the cards. Victoria's potential crunch comes with the 2028-29 closure of the Yallourn power plant in the. When queried, the department told RenewEconomy that the funding set aside in the budget was considered to represent value for money. In a statement Mr St Baker highlighted the buyers commitment to growing the business. 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. 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 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. Level 7 It is also harmful to the environment. AGL Energy has also brought forward the closure of its 2220 MW Loy Yang A plant in Victoria to 2035. Stop the Sale of Vales Point Power Station and Close It Down, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers & NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. A licence granted last year exempts the operators of the Vales Point plant, recently sold to Sev.en Global Investments, from nitrogen oxide pollution standards. The EPA also stipulated that Delta must investigate, mitigate and report on the causes of NOx emissions when the 1320-megawatt generator operates at less than half its capacity. Wikimedia. Nitric oxide oxidises in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide. . 1 to 3) and one of 275 MW supplied by Associated Electrical Industries (unit no. 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. The study also criticized the absence of air pollution monitoring within 25 km of Eraring and the nearby Vales Point power station. 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 has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity . 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. The turbines were removed in 1997; the boilers and buildings were demolished between 201114. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. Mr . While the Chinese government has signalled it will restrict coal lending, the country has yet to formally limit its investment in coal plants, the IEEFA report said. [9][10][11], Vales Point Power Station was used as the location for the Midnight Oil US Forces music video.[12][13]. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. 4 was brought into use in 1966. Transitioning the Hunter and Central Coast from a fossil fuels manufacturing base to one of renewable generation is underway. 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 NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. Mr St Baker said Evie Networks was moving into a capital-intensive phase with the rollout of 300 fast charging stations around Australia, while he was also involved in developing e-mobility in the Philippines. 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. 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 ? Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy,writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. 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 future of NSWs coal-fired power plants is under increasing threat from cheap renewable energy, which this week forced Victorias Yallourn coal plant to bring forward its closure date as analysts warn the end may come even sooner. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. offsite water contamination from the south-east portion of the ash dump identified in the Environment Protection Licence this year. Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Two investors have bought one of NSW's largest coal-fired power stations for the price of a nice suburban house. Mr St Baker would not reveal the price of the deal, but said we didnt get close to $700 million. The power station doesnt currently have a valid air pollution licence. 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. 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. 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. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. 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. "We predict that gas power station output will fall by 78 per cent and coal output . Delta has been contacted for further comment. 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. Sydney, NSW 2000 Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. @ Copyright RenewEconomy 2020. St Baker said that financing the projects would not be sought from Australian banks but instead would rely solely on international lenders. 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. Were carefully considering it and its an important decision to make and well be making that public shortly, he said. 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 other legacies of coal power include environmental and community impact that cannot be ignored as the closure of power stations take place in NSW. Recent state government announcements in Queensland and Victoria look to cut coal generation out of the energy mix as soon as possible. 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. 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. 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. In January 2019 St Baker told The Australian that he would submit a proposal to Australia's Minister for Energy, Angus Taylor, for government support from the Underwriting New Generation Investments program for three projects including a new A$2 billion 660 MW black coal plant in NSW's Hunter Valley at the Vales Point A power station site or at AGL's Liddell power station.The report claimed "St Baker has lined up a Chinese joint-venture partner" but did not name the company. 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. Sold for a song in 2015, the site is expected to be the subject of a new coal-fired power station proposal. Only this week did the Federal Government flag that commercial interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been significant. September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. (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. 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. It was a good letter from Anne Aldcroft (CCN380) regarding dog owners not doing their duty. The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. However, a 2015 report from the state government's Coal Innovation Fund says the CCS . Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Mr St Bakers announcement came as the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report on Monday showing Chinese finance is increasingly stepping in as the lender of last resort for coal plants, as other banks take active measures to restrict their funding. 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. These are known as blue hydrogen.