World-first coal to hydrogen plant trial launched in Victoria

A world-first trial to use brown coal to make hydrogen has been launched in Victoria's east as a pilot 'clean energy' project that is expected to create 400 jobs — but critics and coal industry experts alike said new measures will be needed to tackle the carbon emissions generated.

The Loy Yang brown coal mine in Victoria's Latrobe
 Valley. The mine is owned by AGL.

A demonstration plant will be built in the Latrobe Valley as part of the $496 million project to develop technology to produce hydrogen from the region's vast reserves of coal.

The hydrogen would be shipped from the Port of Hastings to Japan under the deal with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, J-Power, Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni and the Japanese Government.

The Federal and Victorian Governments are providing $100 million towards the cost of the trial.

Speaking from the launch at Loy Yang mine, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said hydrogen was a fuel of the future.

Read the story by Kellie Lazzaro from ABC News - “World-first coal to hydrogen plant trial launched in Victoria.”

Energy debate heats up in a tale of two priorities

Brown coal will get a $100 million lifeline as the federal and state governments invest in an ambitious project to convert one of Australia's most polluting energy sources into hydrogen.

AGL's Loy Yang A power plant: new uses being sought for its brown coal mine.

But on the same day, Victoria will also unveil the results of its first big renewable energy auction.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will join several ministers in the Latrobe Valley to unveil the formal launch of a $496 million, four-year pilot project to convert brown coal into hydrogen for export to Japan and elsewhere, companies and officials said.

The federal and Victorian governments have both pledged $50 million each to the project, with the rest of its funding coming from a Japanese consortium comprising the Japanese Government, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, J-Power, Iwatani Corporation and Marubeni, while AGL is providing coal from its Loy Yang brown coal mine.

Read the story by Cole Latimer and Peter Hannam from The Age - “Energy debate heats up in a tale of two priorities.”

(The idea of using Victoria’s coal to create hydrogen is reliant upon carbon capture and storage (CCS), an idea that has seen only limited use, is really only in the experimental stage, and has not really been scaled up to an industrial level, something which would be essential if the Victorian hydrogen project was to be viable - Robert McLean)

Hot temperatures to rock Victoria’s grid.

Brown coal power plants believe they are ready for the long weekend's high temperatures, as energy authorities prepare for a grid stretched to the limit.

The Loy Yang power stations are planning for higher
 demand ahead of high temperatures this weekend. 

A heatwave forecast to hit Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania on the weekend has sparked an Australian Energy Market Operator warning that the system will be under pressure.

Read Cole Latimer’s story from the Melbourne Age - “Hot temperatures to rock Victoria’s grid.”

La Trobe Valley's Loy Yang B coal-fired power station sold to Chinese-owned company

The role of brown coal in Victoria's energy supply has been bolstered by the sale of the La Trobe Valley's Loy Yang B station for an estimated $1 billion to Chinese-owned Alinta Energy after six months on the market.

Loy Yang Power stations A and B in Victoria's Latrobe Valley.

 The 1000 megawatt station, which generates 17 per cent of Victoria's energy needs, was offloaded by Japan's Mitsui and French energy giant Engie, the company that closed its ageing Hazelwood station in April this year as part of its long-term scheme to divest itself of coal-fueled assets.

The Hazelwood closure instantly removed 20 per cent of Victoria's energy generation capabilities, contributing to power price surges across the state.

The sale came only a day before the Coalition of Australian Governments meet in Tasmania, to discuss the implementation of the National Energy Guarantee, which places greater importance on the use of coal in power generation.

Read Cole Latimer’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “La Trobe Valley's Loy Yang B coal-fired power station sold to Chinese-owned company.”

Social decisions play a major role in mitigating GHG emissions

S

ocial decisions will play a major role in mitigating the emissions that culminate in climate change.

There has been significant social
pressure around the closure
of the brown coal
Anglesea power generator.

And it is that which has led to the closure of the rather dirty Anglesea brown coal generator.

Reneweconomy wrote: “It could be the classic tale of a stranded asset. And one that should resonate throughout the energy and investment sector. Even when Alcoa announced 15 months ago it would close its Point Henry aluminium refinery near Geelong, it refused to shut the highly polluting brown coal coal fired generator that had supplied the refinery for 46 years.

“Alcoa reasoned that someone must want to buy its output, or even the generator. “Alcoa believes the Anglesea power station is a viable asset and that is why it will be offered for sale,” a spokesman said in early 2014.”

Read the story - “Anglesea brown coal generator to close after losing social licence”.

Tom Arup braves the wrath of the 'responsible men'

Tom Arup deserves our praise.

As the environment editor at The Age in Melbourne, Tom frequently writes about issues and matters that our “responsible men” would not appreciate seeing published.

Today, Tom has written, in a story headlined: “Fire at Morwell reignites brown-coal debate” about the rather shaky future of Victoria’s massive brown coal reserves.

Tom has gone to lengths to explain the history of brown and black coal, its importance to the Victorian economy, how the belief of carbon capture and storage, the supposed saviour of the coal industry, yet unproven and un-costed, while renewable energy is tested, costed proven and ready to go.

It is unlikely that Tom works in an actual hostile environment, but he would most certainly encounter hostility when researching stories about accessing our energy needs from different sources, breaking the grip that the fossil fuels industry presently has on society.