Further to this Rupe, see below an extract from Ferguson's...

Further to this Rupe, see below an extract from Ferguson's speach a few days ago....lets hope ECT is lobbying the government over this.

http://minister.ret.gov.au/MediaCentre/Speeches/Pages/AddressSKMfunction.aspx

The future of brown coal

The future of the Latrobe Valley's economy will depend on diversification.

The transition to a low carbon economy will bring new opportunities to the Latrobe Valley in this regard.

I think finding alternative uses of brown coal could be one such opportunity.

It's worth remembering that in the 1950s and 1960s, Latrobe Valley brown coal was gasified.

This gas actually supplied Melbourne before Bass Strait was developed.

Today we are continuing to investigate how, in a carbon constrained environment, we can continue to make use of the 500 years of Latrobe brown coal at our disposal.

To this end, my Department and the Victorian government are collaborating on a range of projects and a Coal Road Map.

This will set out sustainable and long term opportunities for brown coal – but more importantly ensure the Latrobe Valley remains an energy rich powerhouse.

One of these opportunities is the development of carbon capture and storage technology.

Last week the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2011 reminded everyone of the importance of CCS in the world's future energy mix.

While coal is expected to decline in favour of alternative fuel sources, fossil fuels will continue to provide most of our energy requirements well into the future.

Accordingly, CCS is essential if we are to reduce emissions globally.

In Australia, Government and industry are still working on the demonstration phase of CCS.

The CarbonNet project in the Latrobe Valley is a good example of this.

If successful, it may be one of the world's first industrial-scale and multi-user foundation CCS networks.

The Latrobe Valley could become a world leader in CCS.

And, along with the development of new drying, gasification and liquefaction technologies, CCS might even open up brown coal to export markets.

It's our hope that, together with industry, the Latrobe Valley will continue to create high value products from your brown coal.