Tough emissions standards for new coal-fired power stations
Julia Gillard,Martin Ferguson,Penny Wong
posted Friday, 23 July 2010
All new coal-fired power stations will be subject to tough emissions standards to ensure that future energy generation in Australia is cleaner and greener, under a Gillard Labor Government.
Around 77 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply is generated by black and brown coal fired power stations.
The power stations we build in coming years will be with us for decades to come. It is important that we take action now to ensure that we do not lock in high-emissions power stations that damage the environment and impose higher environmental costs for future generations.
These reforms would ensure all new coal-fired power stations:
– Meet new best practice coal emissions standards.
– Are Carbon Capture and Storage ready.
In addition, existing coal-fired power stations will be subject to new obligations to find opportunities to reduce their emissions.
The new best practice coal emissions standard will be set by the Government in consultation with stakeholders, including State and Territory Governments, energy market institutions, industry and environmental groups.
Our starting point would be below the level at which assistance was proposed by the Government under the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). Under the CPRS the Government proposed providing transitional assistance to generators that are producing above 0.86 tons of CO2 per megawatt hour of electricity produced.
The standards would deliver a strong signal to investors to factor future carbon constraints into their decision making. The standards will help move our energy sector towards cleaner forms of generation such as best-practice coal technology, gas and renewables. They will encourage investment in low emissions electricity infrastructure and support green jobs and continued economic growth.
This approach will help resolve the uncertainty that has been deterring investment in generating capacity. A recent survey by the Electricity Supply Association of Australia found that the anticipated capital expenditure on electricity generation plant over the next five years fell from $18 billion in 2009 to $8 billion in 2010. A statement issued by the Climate Institute and its climate partners, including major banks and energy companies, estimated that regulatory uncertainty would cost the economy and consumers around $2 billion each year.
The Government will consider phasing out the new requirements upon the introduction of an economy-wide carbon price.
The new requirements will not impact upon existing plants. Planned investments which already have environmental approvals, and are determined by the energy market institutions as being sufficiently advanced in their regulatory approvals at the commencement of these standards, will also be exempt from them.
A Gillard Labor Government will also place additional obligations on existing coal-fired power stations to find opportunities to reduce their emissions by expanding the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program.
For the first time, the expanded Energy Efficiency Opportunities program will require all existing generators, including all coal-fired power stations, to undertake regular assessments of their potential to save energy and report publicly on assessment outcomes.
Under the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program, Australia’s 200 biggest energy users have already committed to measures that will reduce Australia’s emissions by 0.8 per cent on 2000 levels, with measures for a further 0.4 per cent reduction in the pipeline. In total, that’s equivalent to taking more than one million cars off the road.
The Government will also publish annual facility-level greenhouse gas emissions and electricity production data supplied under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act.
This package will ensure that Australia moves forward on tackling climate change and begins the transition to a low pollution economy, both by reducing emissions from the electricity generation sector.
These initiatives do not involve any budgetary costs.
Tags: change, Climate, Climate Change, environment, Gillard, Julia, resources