Latrobe Valley pollution could be halved under Abbott plan to...

Latrobe Valley pollution could be halved under Abbott plan to clean up coal-fired power

NOVEMBER 18, 2013 12:00AM

POLLUTION from the ­Latrobe Valley could be halved and jobs created under a plan to clean up coal-fired power stations.
The project could be one of the first funded by Prime ­Minister Tony Abbott's ­Direct ­Action plan to replace the ­carbon tax.

The CSIRO is a driving force behind the scheme that might also produce a new source of crude oil for cars.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt says the plan, which would use Victoria's brown coal and modified ­diesel engines, is a potential "bonanza".

Supporters say it will provide cheaper power within a decade and support wind and solar power growth.
The Herald Sun can reveal the plan looks set to be the first major project the Government backs with its Emissions ­Reduction Fund to fight pollution instead of a carbon tax.
"It is a potential jobs bonanza as well as a clean energy bonanza for the Latrobe Valley," Mr Hunt told the Herald Sun. "Instead of trying to close down Victoria's best resource, this is about cleaning it up."

The CSIRO's Dr Louis Wibberley said the direct- ­injection carbon engine, known as DICE, could reduce emissions by up to 50 per cent from brown coal to generate Australia's lowest-cost, low CO2 electricity.

He said the coal was mixed with water to make a slurry and then heated to produce a micronised refined fuel. It was then sprayed into an adapted ­diesel engine.

"DICE power generation offers the potential for a steep reduction in CO2 emissions from brown coal and a further reduction via cost-effective back-up for increased renewable power," he said.

Dr John White, chairman of the DICEnet group of 15 organisations, said the project would not only maintain jobs in the mining and power industry but could mean a "dramatic increase in jobs".

The first stage of the plan is to spend $10 million on a test using Victorian brown coal on a diesel engine in Japan in 2015. Stage two is to build a $40-80 million prototype in the Latrobe Valley.
Dr White said it would take five to eight years to run trials, but it was hoped the system would be ready to operate commercially by 2018.

He said the 80MW engines - costing up to $150?million each - could incrementally replace boilers over 10 to 30 years as power stations reached the end of their lives.

Dr Wibberley and Dr White said the technology would boost renewable energy such as wind and solar. Coal-fired power stations must run continuously, but diesel engines can be turned on and off, topping up renewable energy.

Dr White said the oil byproduct could be a new source of fuel and "give life" to refineries at risk of closure.
Mr Hunt said this would be a major breakthrough. "Instead of oil taking a million years to brew, they brew it in a matter of weeks," he said.

He said the project could transform the Latrobe Valley.
"It's not going to happen overnight, but on balance I think it is more likely that within a decade the Latrobe Valley will be on its way to being both a source of clean automotive fuels and producing dramatically cleaner electricity," he said.

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