The term 'Brown Coal Pilbara' entered the language in March 2012 when it became clear that bi-partisan State and Federal Government support had been reached for steps to be taken to create a multi-billion dollar new Brown coal upgrade and export industry in Victoria.
It was, and is, Victoria's one and only chance to join with WA and Qld as financial participants in the Asian Century's energy and resources demand band wagon.
Since March, dozens of links (to media outlets, key politicians, the anti coal greens, the CSIRO etc) about the Vic and Fed Govt plans for a BC Pilbara have been found by MNM posters here and elsewhere.
They are the ONLY credible evidence that neutral readers can trust to answer the following heated online stock forum debate:
Which BC tech is the best placed to receive the lions share of the $90 million in ALDP cash in 2013?
These are all the major links to information about the BCP from the mainstream media and the key politicians concerned.
I like exergen's chances.
And MNM has as much to gain from ALDP success as they do.
'MINING companies are preparing bids to extract billions of tonnes of brown coal from the Latrobe Valley under controversial plans being promoted by the Baillieu government, raising the prospect of a new South Gippsland port to export it.
Coal technology firm Exergen says it will bid for up to 1 billion tonnes of brown coal for export to Japan and India and for use in a new demonstration power plant.'
'Exergen head Trevor Bourne told The Age the company had been talking with the offices of Premier Ted Baillieu and Mr O'Brien about its plans.
He said Exergen would use technology to remove moisture from brown coal, lowering its carbon emissions and making it more suitable for export. It had backing from Indian energy company Tata Power and Itochu Corporation of Japan.
He said Exergen also wanted to build a 7 to 10 megawatt $20 million demonstration power plant, backed by Australian firms Thiess and Sedgman.
''I think our technology fundamentally shifts that paradigm on brown coal. We can reduce the CO2 emissions using our technology on brown coal to that of using gas with combined-cycle technology,'' he said.
Unfortunately, a number of companies are now lobbying the Victorian Government for approvals and funding to set up a new brown coal export industry in Victoria to ship polluting brown coal to the developing world. Most recently Exergen told a State Parliamentary Inquiry that they want a coal allocation to develop a new ‘super-mine’ in the Latrobe Valley.
And this threat just got a whole lot worse. At the start of August this year the Victorian and Federal Governments committed $45 million each to support new polluting brown coal projects in Victoria, including those associated with a new export industry.
Exergen and others are arguing for a government allocation of more coal in 2012 – 13 billion tonnes more.
And that’s just Latrobe Valley coal! It doesn’t include coal reserves being explored near Bacchus Marsh or throughout Gippsland beyond the Latrobe Valley.
This is a big deal. What happens to Victoria’s coal reserve will have a serious impact on global emissions and climate change. That’s why we need to keep it in the ground.'
If Greenies hate coal, they REALLY hate brown coal (lignite) -- but it is very close to the surface so just has to be dredged up -- making it very cheap. It has been powering Victoria for decades. It is also now the major source of power for Germany.
A PLAN to export Victoria's brown coal will deliver 3300 jobs and more than $11 billion in new revenue as the state plots its own mining boom.
Internal government documents seen by the Herald Sun reveal the enormous scale of the proposed project and how advanced negotiations are.
The Baillieu Government has been in secret talks with a consortium from India, Japan and Australia for more than a year about granting access to the state's huge deposits of brown coal, papers show.
That project alone would generate $11 billion in state revenue and create 3000 jobs on its construction and another 300 on-going jobs through its operation.
And the Herald Sun understands that windfall could be the tip of the iceberg, as other overseas groups are interested in similar-scale schemes.
Documents detail how a consortium led by Australian company Exergen, backed by India's biggest business group, Tata, and Japan's third-largest trader, Itochu, is in talks with the Government over one plan.
Tata Power executives met state Energy Minister Michael O'Brien and federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson in October, claiming the coal project could deliver $11 billion in royalties to Victoria's economy in the next 40 years.
Exergen has told the Government it has spent $20 million developing technology that can reduce the moisture content of brown coal from 65 per cent to 25 per cent, making it suitable for export.
Under the first stage of its Victorian project the consortium plans to spend $50 million building a full-scale commercial demonstration plant, to be operational within three years of it receiving an allocation.
Exergen is also collaborating with the CSIRO to develop the use of its treated brown coal, and claims three direct injection coal engines would be able to replace a third of the electricity generated at Hazelwood, but with vastly lower emissions.
Exergen chief executive officer Trevor Bourne told the Herald Sun his group wanted access to a billion tonnes of Victoria's brown coal, with full confidence it could make the project commercially and environmentally sound.
"We are going to invest $100 million in proving this - we are confident enough to spend that money," he said.
"We are a committed company that think we can have an impact reducing carbon dioxide and unlocking the value in the Latrobe Valley."
'Protesters cop ASIO treatment over Bacchus Marsh action Save By CLAIRE KNOX April 17, 2012, 2:32 a.m.
PROTEST and environment groups against Mantle Mining's exploratory drilling program in Bacchus Marsh fear they are being intimidated by the state government after several members were visited by government intelligence officers two weeks ago.'
"Clearly, we pose a political threat to the government and their mandate to start brown coal exports. It's their imperative for our activities to be monitored and contained - obviously it's an intimidation tactic."
Several other members of Friends of the Earth and the Quit Coal campaign had received phone calls from intelligence officers, he claimed.
On Monday, Mr Murray locked himself to the stairs of a foyer in South Melbourne where Mantle Mining held its annual general meeting for shareholders.
"We just want to demonstrate the strong opposition to mining plans in the foodbowl region of Bacchus Marsh," he said. "We want to raise awareness about their plan to destroy the Bacchus Marsh farmland and to demonstrate the strong community opposition."
Police were called to the scene and Mr Murray unlocked himself at around 2.30pm once the meeting had concluded.
Last Thursday, The Age revealed the country's leading counter-terrorism agency ASIO had been providing intelligence to the federal government on environmental groups that campaign against coalmining.
It comes after federal Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson warned that protests at power stations and coal export terminals could have "life-threatening" consequences and "major trade and investment implications".
'The $50 million of State funds earmarked for the HRL Plant has not been withdrawn and is thought likely to be directed to Mantle Mining to support their proposed export oriented brown coal mining and dewatering venture at Bacchus Marsh should the HRL Dual Gas Gippsland project fail.
At Bacchus Marsh, Mantle Mining is sitting on as much as two billion tonnes of brown coal. The environmental impact of burning this is enormous.'
This is the 2012 brown coal use roadmap produced by BCIA.
BCIA are, in effect, the brown coal research and development arm of the Victorian Government.
The 2012 BCIA focus seems to be almost entirely on the exergen/CSIRO DICE project.
This part of the BCIA paper is revealing:
'DICE research objectives
Assess a range of process combinations to produce suitable fuel for direct injection coal engines
Identify technologies for preparing Victorian coal for use in adapted large diesel engines
Identify and pilot test technologies for desanding Victorian coals – develop fuel specifications with large engine manufacturers for engine development
Develop a business case and engineering for a demonstration at the 10 MW scale by 2015'
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and why did Dr Brockway, the long serving CSIRO brown coal boss, become a director of exergen in mid 2011?
and what does his status as a bc upgrade tech advisor to Loy Yang owner AGL foreshadow...
http://www.exergen.com.au/managementServices.html
"David Brockway brings the experience of a career in energy including brown coal research and development over 30 years. He held the position Director Global Energy with CSIRO from July 2010 until present, and immediately before that Chief, Energy Technology for CSIRO from 2004 to 2010. Prior to that he was CEO of the CRC for Power Generation from Low Rank Coals from 1993-1999 and CEO for the CRC on Clean Power from Lignite from 1999-2003.
David currently holds advisory positions on AGL Energy and Emerging Technology Advisory Committee and the Brown Coal Innovation Australia, Research Advisory Committee. David was a member of the Energy White Paper, High Level Consultative Committee (2009) and Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council, Foresighting Group on Climate Change, Energy, Water and the Environment (2009).
David holds B. Applied Science (Swinburne IT), Masters Science (La Trobe University) and Doctorate of Philosophy (Monash University)."
How Victoria puts you through the FoI wringer by Mark Wakeham, campaigns director at Environment Victoria.
Environment Victoria made a freedom of information request on December 15 last year.
We sought documents relating to the state government’s proposed allocation of billions of tonnes of coal to private companies, in particular correspondence with a company called Exergen who are the most aggressive lobbyists for a new coal allocation (the last coal allocation failed dismally).
We also sought policy advice and correspondence between Energy Minister Michael O’Brien and Department of Primary Industries on decisions to make wind farms harder to build in Victoria and decisions to slash support for households and businesses who want to install solar power.
Having been through the wringer before on FoI requests in the past, I expected the government to drag its heels processing the request. Our lawyers at the Environment Defenders Office (EDO) warned us that FoI has been going from bad to worse in Victoria and that we were going to need to be patient. However nothing could prepare me for the tortuous process that we’ve been through so far and that is still not complete.
First, DPI failed to process our request in the mandatory 45-day limit, so with the assistance of the EDO we lodged an appeal at VCAT against its “deemed refusal” to make a decision. Then we entered into good-faith negotiations with the department to narrow our search.
Then, because a significant number of documents were involved, we agreed to their scheduled release, the Exergen correspondence and wind policy documents were to be released on Friday, June 1, and the coal allocation and solar documents on June 15.
So imagine my surprise on June 1 to see the front page of the Herald Sun plastered with a story about the report we’d requested, the day that we were due to receive the document.
Clearly, the Baillieu government had decided to get on the front foot by providing the story to a friendly outlet that a coal jobs bonanza awaits.
The Herald Sun went big on the story with a front page plus an editorial welcoming coal exports and claiming that “Victorians will be reassured by a project likely to lead to a surge in economic activity across the state”.
When I eventually got some of the documents at 2.30pm, 24 hours after the Herald Sun, it was clear that the journalist had only received one of the documents?—?the piece of economic analysis commissioned by Exergen to spruik its project and make the case for the Baillieu government to give it 1 billion tonnes of coal.
It seems that it didn’t get the email correspondence that highlighted that not only does Exergen want the state government to give it 1 billion tonnes of coal, it also wants Victorian taxpayers to pay for its new mine or power station, in the form of a grant from DPI.
So not only did O’Brien attempt to control the story, he also selectively released the facts. It’s astonishing and concerning that proper processes for the release of FoI documents are treated with such disdain by the Baillieu government.
To the Herald Sun’s journalist’s credit he did do a small follow-up story the next day when it was clear he had not got the whole story, though it hardly counterbalanced the previous day’s exuberance in the paper.
Most documents relevant to the FoI search were not actually released by the state government. Environment Victoria eventually received 19 out of 66 pages of relevant documents. None of the wind policy documents were released, which hardly inspires confidence in the accountability and transparency of the decision making process that has made it harder to build a wind farm than a coal-fired power station in Victoria.
A number of letters from Exergen to O’Brien were released, but no letters written by the minister saw the light of day.
These issues are clearly in the public interest. Surely Victorians have a right to access documents that will determine whether we either become an exporter of dirty brown coal to the world, or a major generator of wind power.
Residents of the Latrobe Valley have a right to know how many new coal mines are proposed for the valley and Western Port Bay communities should know what infrastructure and ports are proposed for their bay.
We will regroup with our lawyers and decide whether to appeal the process and decisions at VCAT in coming weeks.
However, Victorians with an interest in open, transparent and accountable decision making from their government should be worried, very worried.'
(If you click on the screen image of an email headed 'tata power visit' on the crikey site it takes you to all the other papers they received from the Vic Govt under FOI. Close reading of these papers is the key to understanding what the BC Pilbara plan is based upon.
It is clear from the papers that Tata Power sent representatives to meet with the Victorian Govt and exergen in the first week of October 2011.
It is clear that the point of discussion was Tata's interest in investing in a project that will provide them with access to the BCE product they urgently need to keep the lights on in India.
After that meeting Exergen wrote to Vic Resources Minister O'Brien and invite the Vic Govt to visit Tata in India.
And, of course, in February 2012 Premier Baillieu led a super trade delegation to India.
Who to see in particular do ya think?
Especially when on his return in March 2012 Ted B was announcing a future 'brown coal pilbara'. Which makes you think that a deal was done in India with tata/exergen.
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http://www.railpage.com.au/news/article-10801/
'Geelong’s port would play a key role in State Government’s push
Posted today at 4:04pm
Geelong’s port would play a key role in State Government’s push to join the multi-billion-dollar boom.
The report recommended that State Government identify infrastructure to support mining exploration, including transport links.
GEELONG could share in Australia’s mining boom if a parliamentary committee report is adopted.
The report said Geelong’s port would play a key role in State Government’s push to join the multi-billion-dollar boom.
Rail haulage to a key port like Geelong was crucial to Victoria’s bid because the majority of the state’s mineral resources were in regional areas, the report said.
The report recommended that State Government identify infrastructure to support mining exploration, including transport links. Mantle Mining, exploring for brown coal near Bacchus Marsh, told the committee rail haulage to Geelong gave the project a competitive advantage.
The WA-based company announced last month it had found a wider-than-expected coal seam at Parwan, near Bacchus Marsh. Mantle Mining said it set an exploration target of up to two billion tonnes of coal for the area.
The company aims to export the majority of its coal after processing for enhanced greenhouse efficiency. Mantle Mining chief Ian Kraemer told the committee the close access to rail and ship-loading facilities at Port of Geelong was crucial.
“(This) leads to an easier commercial outcome to get upgraded coal to market because it has rail (and) the Port of Geelong with capacity,” he said.
Clean coal technology company Exergen told the committee the value of access to rail infrastructure and port links led to its involvement in the industry.
Exergen head Dr Jack Hamilton said the Melbourne-to-Ballarat railway line ran over the mining tenement, offering access to Geelong’s port. The report on greenfields mineral exploration and project development in Victoria said the sector dropped 40 per cent from $9.8 billion in 1990 to $5.9 billion in 2010.'
GEELONG could share in Australia’s mining boom if a parliamentary committee report is adopted.
The report said Geelong’s port would play a key role in State Government’s push to join the multi-billion-dollar boom.
Rail haulage to a key port like Geelong was crucial to Victoria’s bid because the majority of the state’s mineral resources were in regional areas, the report said.'
OPENING up Victoria's vast brown coal deposits through an environmentally clean process promises to turn around the state's economy.
As reported in today's Herald Sun, an $11 billion economic boost through some of the world's biggest companies could provide thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions.
The Latrobe Valley could be transformed into a mining export hub similar to the Pilbara or Hunter Valley with the advent of new brown coal technology.
The project may silence even the most strident of environmental critics through research to make brown coal use as clean as gas.
The Baillieu Government, struggling with the loss of manufacturing jobs, has spent months in talks with a consortium of Indian and Japanese corporations led by Australian company Exergen and may have struck what it is looking at as "coal gold".
This is the type of innovative thinking and creative approach Victoria needs from its Government and a demonstration plant to prove the process should remove any doubts over carbon proliferation.
It could allow Victoria to share in the minerals boom with safeguards that would guarantee billions of dollars in export sales.
Victorians will be reassured by a project likely to lead to a surge in economic activity across the state.
There are those only too ready to condemn coal mining. But families in Gippsland's Latrobe Valley who are facing closure of coal-fired electricity generation plants under a carbon tax regime will now look to a brighter future.'
The State Government says talks to export brown coal from the Latrobe Valley have progressed quickly.
Earlier this year, the Government announced it was opening up Victoria's vast brown coal reserves to export, if a company is able to develop technology to allow it to be dried and transported safely.
The Government says it is already in talks with an international consortia about a project to dry coal for export.
It is estimated the project could create 3,000 jobs during the construction phase, on top of about 300 on-going jobs.
Resources Minister Michael O'Brien says the proposal shows there is significant interest in a potential brown coal export market.
"When we met with a consortia last year to discuss Victoria's brown coal, the Exergen and Tata groups were very positive about it," he said.
Critics of the export proposal say it is premature because the technology to remove the moisture from brown coal, so it can be transported safely, could be more than a decade away.
But Mr O'Brien says the technology is developing fast.
"We've already heard from some companies who have pilots up and running, who believe the technology does work," he said.
"We would expect from the time an allocation decision is made, that we would start to see some investment in Victoria in the next two to three years."
But Labor's Tim Pallas says making predictions about job gains from an export industry is premature.
He says the vast majority of experts and industry players think the technology is still some time away.
"There are enormous difficulties to overcome before that happens," he said.
"I think the Government would be very wise to take a cold shower around this stuff and not to fuel the community's expectations that this technology is around the corner and a jobs bonanza is about to befall the state of Victoria."
The Government will make a decision about new coal allocations later this year.'
Grant McArthur From: Herald Sun June 02, 2012 12:00AM
GREEN campaigners say the Baillieu Government is being held to ransom over access to the state's brown coal resources.
The Herald Sun has revealed a consortium of Indian, Japanese and Australian companies plans to pump $11 billion into the state's economy through new Latrobe Valley coal projects.
But Environment Victoria said the investment would occur only if the group had taxpayer-funded support.
Documents released to the green group through Freedom of Information yesterday show the consortium's leader, Exergen, is seeking grants from the Victorian or Federal governments.
Exergen told the State Government last October the "availability of co-support funding through Energy Technology Innovation Strategy or other sources, such as federal" was a contributing factor to the project coming to Victoria.
A state government spokesman said companies seeking a brown coal allocation finished lodging expressions of interest last week and it was too early to speculate on which, if any, would get access to brown coal resources.
Environment Victoria's Mark Wakeham said documents showed Exergen wanted one billion tonnes of coal and support to build mines and power stations.
A state government spokesman said companies seeking a brown coal allocation finished lodging expressions of interest last week and it was too early to speculate on which, if any, would get access to brown coal resources.'
(Ahh yes, exergen demanded co-funding for their demo plant, and a fresh allocation from the S7 in October 2011...both have been obediently delivered by the Vic and Fed Govt. 'held to ransom' is such a negative spin. 'doing business for the greater good!' is much better...)
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a useful summary of what exergen were up to between 2008-2011 from a former employee.
it also confirms that the DFT on the chtd demo was completed years ago.
as exergen are a private business, this kind of disclosure is all we have, but why would Tom Coulter make this stuff up?
http://au.linkedin.com/pub/tom-coulter/37/b83/973
'Process Engineer Exergen Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Mining & Metals industry January 2008 – February 2011 (3 years 2 months) Brisbane Area, Australia
Exergen is a resources company who are seeking to exploit mineral resources using a patented autoclave technology.
The primary resource target is brown coal, with the objective of transforming this coal into an exportable resource.
The role and responsibility included:
- Process design for a definitive feasibility study into a demonstration and full scale operation
- Modeling and simulation of several power generating systems to determine the GHG benefit derived from upgrading brown coal
- Operation of a 4tph pilot plant
- Extensive research and development activities at the pilot plant
- Perfomed techno-economic assessment of several technology pathways for upgrading of brown coal'
for all those non-readers this ABC 7.30 report is a cracker.
Martin Ferguson virtually tells the world that the BCP is ALL ABOUT EXERGEN.
There are some nice shots of Marty F touring the exergen pilot plant.
Ted Baillieu also weighs in with his full support.
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for those who want to assess EXACTLY what Fed Resources Minister Ferguson said on the ABC 7.30 report a few months back:
MARTIN FERGUSON:
'If Exergen gets it right, then we guarantee our future economically, whilst also creating new export opportunities in terms of the potential export of brown coal, whilst at the same time securing reliable power for Victoria.'
Premier Ted Baillieu has just jumped on a plane to India to strengthen our trading ties. One thing that India wants, and we've got lots of is cheap, dirty and inefficient brown coal.
The Greens recently asked the Minister for Energy, Michael O'Brien in writing whether he had done anything to facilitate the export of brown coal, whether the government had identified essential infrastructure for the exporting of brown coal, and what it was.
We also asked him whether he or senior departmental officials had met with any companies interested in purchasing our brown coal (Adani, Tata Power, Reliance Power, Exergen, Itochu or Leighton Holdings).
His response?...
"Government Ministers continue to adhere to the Victorian Government Professional Lobbyist Code of Conduct" - Pardon?
We checked both sides of the paper to see if anything else had been written, or if something had fallen off the page. That was genuinely their answer.
If it looks like avoidance, sounds like concealment and feels like a cover-up, chances are they have got something to hide - otherwise they would tell Victorians straight, right?
When the Premier returns from his trip, we'll submit a freedom of information request to see if his itinerary included any meetings to find brown coal export markets.
Hopefully, his office will be able to take some time out from their relentless quest to "stop the spin" and actually answer the question.'
'2 May 2008 MINISTER TO ATTEND MAJOR COAL TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
The Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, the Hon Martin Ferguson MP, will today attend the announcement of two significant investments in Exergen, an Australian company which has developed a process for removing moisture and contaminants from brown coal. The announcement will be made at Exergen’s pilot facility at Beaconsfield in North Eastern Tasmania.
Tata Power (a member of the Indian Tata Group of Companies) and leading engineering services company Sedgman have joined founding shareholder Thiess as cornerstone investors in both Exergen Pty Ltd and its technology. Minister Ferguson said: “The Federal Government is acutely aware of the emissions profile of brown coal-fired power generation.
"Latrobe Valley brown coal power is a significant contributor to Australia's energy market. We see it as a priority to achieve large emission reductions quickly. The Exergen pilot is a significant step towards cleaner brown coal power."
Exergen's technology, known as Continuous Hydrothermal Dewatering (CHTD), has been kept tightly under wraps during its development and trialling phase but has now been brought into the industry spotlight due to the commitment of three of the world’s largest mining entities.
The Exergen technology has been demonstrated to remove up to 80 per cent of the moisture from brown coal, while also removing other contaminants which contribute to emissions. Teamed with modern power generation plants, Exergen promises emission reductions of approximately 40 per cent and importantly, the moisture removed from the coal could supply up to 40 per cent of the power station cooling water.
“This technology has significant potential for Victoria in particular,” the Minister said. “It could deliver emission reductions by increasing the thermal efficiency of brown coal which has been out of reach until now.
"The Exergen technology also holds the promise of Victoria joining the ranks of Australia’s coal exporting states,” he said. “This would potentially deliver a brand new industry and thousands of jobs to Victoria.”
Minister Ferguson will tour the Exergen pilot plant this morning and meet with the technology development team and the new investors.
"They are to be congratulated for their innovation and vision," he said.
Fast forward to 2012 and it sounds like Martin Ferguson is still a big exergen fan:
'A report in The Age claimed companies including coal technology firms Exergen and Australian Energy Company Limited would seek up to one billion tonne of coal each for potential export to Asia, among other uses.
This month Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson also told The Express he had high level talks with companies including Exergen about their desired stake of the Valley's coal.
The State Government's EOI process would take around six weeks to complete and a full tender process should be underway by the end of this year, Mr O'Brien said.'
REPORTER: Premier, can you just run us through this new deal to send Victorian coal offshore?
TED BAILLIEU: This is an exciting opportunity, I think, for Victoria and this is about, in the first instance, securing our energy resources for the future, and the second instance, helping to develop technology which will reduce emissions from coal fire generators, and thirdly, making the most of the resources that we do have in this state.
REPORTER: I mean, what’s this going to mean for jobs? Especially down in the La Trobe Valley?
TED BAILLIEU: This is a huge opportunity and it’s an opportunity for investment. It’s an opportunity to add value to our resources here. It’s an opportunity to secure our resources here for our own use as well and to ensure that those resources are used in the most emission-efficient way possible, and that means future jobs, future contracts and it means that business will have an opportunity to invest here, knowing that there is an energy supply here which they can make the most of.
REPORTER: But for a new export industry like this, we don’t have any of that infrastructure in place. What’s it going to cost, how much are you putting into getting those ports ready and ...
TED BAILLIEU: Well, the thing about this is this will be a tender and a competitive tender for allocation of resources and the countries and the companies that have been talking to the Government, they want to demonstrate that the technology that they have will work and will produce results, and we would anticipate that those who take allocations will also provide for investment in the infrastructure needed to do what they wish to do, depending on the product.
REPORTER: How confident are you that that technology is up to scratch to be able to get this resource into a state that is useful and is transportable?
TED BAILLIEU: Well, I’m confident that those who’ve been coming to us, other countries and the commercial organisations, are confident in their technology and what we’re looking at here is a competitive tender for an allocation of resources so that these various technologies can be tested and tested in a commercial environment and those companies will be putting their funding into a situation, their investment into a situation where the technology is to be tested and proven. It think that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for Victoria, it’s a good thing for investment in this state, it’s a great thing for jobs, particularly in the Latrobe Valley and it sends a signal to business that Victoria will remain acutely interested in getting the best value for our resources in this state, and we’ll be able to add value to the resources. That’s the most important thing.
REPORTER: Have you spoken to the Federal Government about this and what’s their response?
TED BAILLIEU: Well, this is an arrangement that’s been developing and there’s some further work to do and the Commonwealth certainly are aware of our interest in getting the best value for the resources we have in Victoria.
REPORTER: Is it a bit double standards in you’re investing in all these clean technologies as well on one hand, and then on the other hand you’re shipping off brown coal ...
TED BAILLIEU: Australia already exports coal, but we export black coal. There is next to no export of brown coal because of its volatility, because of the nature in composition of brown coal. So what we’re talking about here is allowing companies to compete for the right to test their technology on cleaner emissions and a better use of the coal resources we have. That’s got to be a good thing. Now, this is, as I say, about securing our resources, about demonstrating more emission-efficient technology and making the most of our resources.
REPORTER: Just back on the first topic, I guess, do you have a timeline for when you envision the project will get underway?
TED BAILLIEU: Well, the first step is to make the allocation tender available and we’ll be doing that over the next period. The details of that will be announced in due course, but we are very keen to get on with this as soon as we can.
REPORTER: What about decreasing ... the project doesn’t really do anything to decrease our reliance on brown coal.
TED BAILLIEU: The bottom line is Victoria now uses brown coal for about 90 per cent of our generation and we are going to continue to use brown coal in this state for a long, long time to come. We have an enormous resource. I think the ambition of everybody is to reduce the emissions as best we can, but we need to use the resources we have to ensure that we have opportunities to embrace new technology and to provide certainty into our energy sector and that’s one of the things that’s been missing and we want to send that message to generators that we think there’s a future in this state for generation out of brown coal.
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DYOR
If anyone can find ANY credible links at all that refer to other BC techs being key players in the BCP please post them here for the benefit of newcomers to the brown coal revolution underway in Victoria.
MNM Price at posting:
7.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
