New coal plants have a role in Australia's energy future, Josh Frydenberg says

New high-efficiency low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants have a role in the energy mix and the government is prepared to intervene in the market, Josh Frydenberg has said.

Energy minister Josh Frydenberg has lamented the
fact that no coal stations have been built since
 2007 and blamed the closure of older plants
for part of the rise in electricity prices. 

The energy and environment minister told Sky News on Sunday that new coal plants “need to be considered” alongside other sources of baseload power, and the government could intervene if the market failed to deliver the “best possible outcomes” in the electricity market.

The comments leave open the possibility of government intervention in favour of coal, despite Frydenberg saying in July that the government would only support new coal power plants “if the market supports that”.

Read Paul Karp’s story on The Guardian - “New coal plants have a role in Australia's energy future, Josh Frydenberg says.”

(Please, Mr Frydenberg, let us see the numbers that illustrate why and how these so-called “high-efficiency low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants” have a role in Australia’s future energy mix - Robert McLean)

Japan spruiks 'highly efficient' coal-fired power plants as stop-gap measure to Australia's energy crisis

When it comes to Australia's energy crisis, there's been a lot of talk about "clean coal”.

The coal processing section of Japan's Isogo
power plant, where the coal gets crushed.

Some have suggested that high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) coal-fired power plants could be the answer to provide certainty across the energy grid.

Australia's Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and Resources Minister Matt Canavan have taken separate trips to Japan to see how the technology works in practice.

Both politicians visited the Isogo power plant, south of Tokyo — which has been recognised as the world's cleanest coal-fired power station in the world, in terms of emissions intensity.

Read the ABC News story - “Japan spruiks 'highly efficient' coal-fired power plants as stop-gap measure to Australia's energy crisis.”