great opportunity, page-62

The Australian
October 22, 2011 12:00AM

THE owners of Australia's dirtiest power station, Hazelwood, yesterday warned it may not participate in the government's plans to pay high-emissions coal-fired plants to shut down.

International Power-GDF Suez, the world's biggest utility company, said there was "no certainty" it would participate in the government's plan to shut down 2000 megawatts of coal-fired power generation.

The plan, known as "contract for closure", is a key plank of Labor's carbon price scheme and is the biggest single measure to cut carbon emissions in the plan.

The warning by IPR-GDF Suez is a blow as Hazelwood in Victoria's Latrobe Valley has long been the top target of environmental groups wanting the closure of a "polluting dinosaur".

IPR-GDF Suez Australia's group manager for corporate affairs, Jim Kouts, said the company had always been prepared to consider a deal "that respects and protects shareholder investment in our asset and that provides more certainty for our employees and other stakeholders".

"However, if the numbers don't stack up or the terms are not acceptable a contract for closure would clearly not be attractive to us," he warned. The government could be asked to pay almost $3 billion to shut down Hazelwood.

But Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has already warned there is no "bottomless pit of taxpayer dollars" to fund the plan.

He said: "Just as generators are seeking outcomes that suit their commercial interests, the government will be approaching contract for closure from the perspective of prudent expenditure of taxpayer funds."

Expressions of interest closed yesterday. Mr Kouts said the company told the government it was willing to participate in the non-binding process for expressions of interest. But there was "no certainty" it would be involved in the tender process.

It is understood the expressions of interest came from TRUenergy's Yallourn and EnergyBrix at Morwell in Victoria, Alinta Energy's Playford station in South Australia, and Queensland's Collinsville.