Energy security from ‘clean coal’, what could possibly go wrong?

Malcolm Turnbull speaking at the National
Press Club and talking with enthusiasm
about so-called 'clean coal'.

For the last two decades, every few years the fossil fuel industry, via whatever politicians they are then manipulating, have another go at forcing “clean coal”, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and more recently coal seam gas (CSG) on an increasingly sceptical community to justify their continued expansion.

This time the cycle started with the Federal Government promoting development of the Adani Carmichael mega-coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, for coal export to India.  

Events gathered pace with the South Australian blackout last September when violent storm conditions blew down transmission towers, prompting instant Federal Government accusations that excessive State reliance on renewable energy was the cause, despite clear advice to the contrary.

When the long-overdue closure of the Hazelwood brown coal power station in the Latrobe Valley was announced in November, energy security became the political battleground. In passing, Adani were to be offered a $1 billion subsidy to construct the Carmichael rail line, then a further  subsidy for a new domestic coal-fired power plant at the mine was slated, apparently to assist the development of Northern Australia.

The Prime Minister’s recent speech to the National Press Club emphasised the need for “affordable, reliable and secure energy”, took a further swipe at the States for their “unrealistic” renewable targets, offered some encouragement for energy storage, but then confirmed the evangelical swing back to coal, straight from the Minerals Council and IPA hymnbooks.

Read Ian Dunlop’s story on RenewEconomy - “Energy security from ‘clean coal’, what could possibly go wrong?”