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U-turn on $1b methanol expansion plan

A CHEMICALS firm which announced last year it was shelving a $1 billion expansion because of the carbon price, bolstering Coalition claims the scheme would kill investment, now says it is pushing ahead with the plans.
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Coogee Chemicals, which has a methanol plant in the Lalor electorate of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, maintains the carbon price is still a drag on its business but that changes to the scheme, such as scrapping the $15 ''floor'' price, makes an expansion viable after all.
The revelation comes 100 days after the carbon price began on July 1, forcing about 300 large companies and councils to pay $23 for each tonne of carbon they emit. The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, has vowed to scrap the scheme.
Grant Lukey, the manager at Coogee's existing Laverton methanol plant, told the Herald: "We are continuing to progress a project related to a world-scale methanol project. The project is ongoing, but the carbon tax hasn't made it any easier in getting it up."


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/energy-smart/uturn-on-1b-methanol-expansion-plan-20121007-277az.html#ixzz28ePVKpXa