Ludicrous water policy puts profits before the public...

Ludicrous water policy puts profits before the public interest
March 27, 2008

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/water-policy-puts-profits-before-public-interest/2008/03/26/1206207203910.html

from pg 2:
Another example of the Government and its water authorities running dead on reasonable water-saving measures is the brown coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley. The five power stations consume 56 gigalitres of water a year, which comes from ground water, the Yallourn River and potable water from the local water authority.

Brown coal is 70% water. This is reduced to 30% before being burnt to produce electricity. It is this residual water that causes brown coal to generate significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions than black coal. Two companies have developed processes to reduce moisture to black-coal levels and recycle the 40 gigalitres water saved into the generators for cooling. The process is a win-win for the environment. Based on what is known thus far, the water extracted from the coal is likely to cost less than half the cost of water from the desal plant and, because it would be produced on site, it would not require expensive pumping from the coast.