The government will consider so called ‘clean coal’ technologies to ensure Australia’s power supplies are reliable.
THE Turnbull Government is joining a global quest to redeem coal as an economically and environmentally acceptable power source.
...there will be government investment, through a widening of the brief of the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to include coal.
This would require what Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg calls “a new mandate” for the CEFC, which presently looks a renewable energy projects.
This revised mandate is considered urgent by the government because it sees a long-term need for coal, until battery storage for renewables is sufficient to make the wind, solar and other clean energy sources reliable providers of base load requirements.
So far only coal can keep the electricity flowing when the sun sets and the wind drops.
“We’re going to look at all our options because of the challenges that we face, namely to ensure energy security [and] energy affordability, as we transition to a low-emissions future,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“Right now we need more base-load power. Cleaner coal is one of those options together with gas-fired power, as well as ensuring more storage capacity for intermittent sources of generation, namely wind and solar.”
