Find them all here. [2] However, in December 2021, the value of the plant was cut to $156 million and the annual profit was reduced 93% to $9.3 million. Hoping that this means by 2029 transporting and storage of toxic coal dust via the eyesore transport chanel located over Rutleys road will cease and be dismantled ? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. The energy and materials can be provided by either renewable power and water, orcoal and gas. Vales Point uses salt water from Lake Macquarie for cooling. We oppose this sale as it is NOT in the local, state or national interest: One uses gas and the other uses coal or gas, and for either to be a clean energy source they require carbon capture and storage to stop the emissions from the fossil fuels entering the atmosphere. We use "cookies" to enhance your experience on our website. [6], Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning hydrocarbon fuels.[7]. The analysis found if power prices continued to decline, Yallourn, along with the Eraring, Mt Piper, Vales Point B and Gladstone black coal plants would be making a loss by 2025. A spokesperson for Delta Energy said there were no plans for Vales Point to go the same way as Eraring. In December 2021, the value of the power station was written down to $156 million and in September 2022 Delta Electricity agreed to sell to Czech company, Sev.en Global Investments. While the Chinese government has signalled it will restrict coal lending, the country has yet to formally limit its investment in coal plants, the IEEFA report said. The sale, which was handled by RBC Capital Markets, takes Mr St Baker out of coal power at a sizeable profit on paper. Two years on from the sale, the facility was valued at $722M. . Under . the practices of Delta Electricity, past and present that are driving a range of water pollution impacts in Lake Macquarie, the sale of the power station to Se.ven Global Investments, Closure planning, decontamination and rehabilitation. Whoever owns these assets, I want to make sure they are acting in the interests of the citizens of this state, not for vested interests, he said. Vales point already has an exemption licence to pollute over and above NSW emission controls. Sold for a song in 2015, the site is expected to be the subject of a new coal-fired power station proposal. It has been announced that the ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the Central Coast, NSW is to be sold by the Australian Delta Energy to the Czech fossil fuel investment company Sev.en, owned by billionaire Pavel Tyka. By 2050, green hydrogen has the potential to drive $350 billion in investment across Australia in current dollars and up to $26 billion per year in additional GDP, supporting the emergence of new decarbonised industries such as green steel and ammonia.. On Tuesday Kean said he was still expecting the plant to close by 2029, saying the state had plans in place to ensure that the capacity of Vales Point is replaced by that time. But Delta managing director Greg Everett described the objections raised about the time limits for its application for an exemption as an administrative interpretation issue, not an environmental one. If Vales Point power station is allowed to operate beyond 2029, we know it will have continued serious consequences for the health of the community. It has two steam turbines, with a total generating capacity of 1,320 MW (1,770,000 hp) of electricity. Significant places & items of interest in the, New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, "NSW government sells Vales Point power station for $1m", Australian Financial Review (Subscription Required), "Vales Point power station privatisation put before auditor-general", "Plunging energy prices sink Vales Point power station", "St Baker and Flannery cash in on Vales Point coal plant in sale to Czechs", "Vales Point Power Station emission exemption application open for public comment", "New Vales Point pollution controls don't go far enough for environment groups", "Environment & Heritage | POEO Licences, Application and Notice Detail", "Strict new operating limits for Vales Point Power Station from 1 January", Electricity Commission of New South Wales, EnergyAustralia (state government enterprise), Sydney County Council (Sydney Electricity), List of power stations in New South Wales, Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vales_Point_Power_Station&oldid=1112958126, Coal-fired power stations in New South Wales, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Thermal power station articles using Infobox power station, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, New England County Council (New England Electricity), North West County Council (North West Electricity), Northern Riverina County Council (Northern Riverina Electricity), Northern Rivers County Council (Northern Rivers Electricity), Peel-Cunningham County Council (PCCC Electricity), Shortland County Council (Shortland Electricity), Southern Mitchell County Council (Southern Mitchell Electricity), Southern Riverina County Council (Southern Riverina Electricity), Southern Tablelands County Council (Southern Tablelands Electricity), This page was last edited on 29 September 2022, at 00:23. Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Unit no. We continue to invest in the reliability of Vales Point to its notional closure in 2029. One is electrolysis that uses electricity to split water, which can be powered by renewables in an emissions-free process and is known as green hydrogen. The project was moved to Vales Point Power Station in 2012, after Munmorah closed. If you want to be updated with all the latest energy sector news, you can sign up for our newsletter or visit our blog section. Delta Coal which supplies Vales Point have an active proposal to continue mining largely exploited seams under the lake and ash dump until 2029 and community fears over worsening pollution impacts from this aging facility under this potential new ownership have been made public. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.James Whelan Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing "closure potential". Recent state government announcements in Queensland and Victoria look to cut coal generation out of the energy mix as soon as possible. Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the results of the registration of interest showed that the region was set to reap the jobs and investment rewards from the transformation of the energy system. They would be Australias first high-efficiency, low emissions stations, Mr St Baker said. Goldman Sachs said Vales Point, backed by energy mogul Trevor St Baker, was facing closure potential. AGL, rival Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia have all brought forward the dates for closure of coal-fired power stations since the start of 2021, triggering suggestions that some other coal generators may need to keep running for longer to keep electricity supply secure amid the rise of weather-dependent wind and solar power. Future: Part of the Vales Point power station on the Central Coast. Delta Electricity has stated that Vales Point's "nominal closure" is due in 2029. . The power stationed operated from 11 March 1927 until March 1976. The expectation has been that the power station would close in 2029 and the clean-up could begin., Vales Point on southern Lake Macquarie stayed in government hands until 2015, when the Coalition state government controversially sold it to energy entrepreneurs Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery for $1 million., 167 Parry Street,Hamilton East, NSW, 2303, AboutCampaigningResearch & ReportsSubmissionsVolunteerHCEC NewsMedia ReleasesEventsContact UsCommittee Records, Barrington - Hawkesbury Climate Corridors Alliance, Water pollution Datawatch: NSW power stations. Vales Point was originally equipped with three turbo-alternators of 200 MW supplied by the English Electric (unit nos. In December 2017, Origin Energy announced that it would close the . [3] The plan for a new 660-MW plant appears to be cancelled. 15 December 2021. Andy Saunders 1 year ago John John 1 year ago Andy Saunders 1 year ago Its members include residents and health professionals. We will continue to invest in the station both for ongoing energy needs and for system security, said the spokesperson. Vales Point A (replacement) power station is a proposal by Delta Electricity to build a new 660 MW plant on the site of the demolished Vales Point A plant in New South Wales, Australia. Coal-fired power will be needed to keep the lights on for another couple of decades, said Mr St Baker, who is an investor in fast charging system provider Tritium, which listed in New York early this year, and Evie Networks, among other energy interests. Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates that Vales Point emits 9.32 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year from burning coal. Delta confirmed that it had terminated contracts with relevant suppliers for the turbine upgrades. NSW plant closures include the Vales Point power station, scheduled to shut in 2029-30. With only an approximately seven-year operating life now remaining, and a very weak wholesale electricity forward curve, we believe Yallourns permanent exit may still be even earlier than now planned, Goldman Sachs analyst Baden Moore said. Read our Privacy Policy. Vales Point was the first major power station in New South Wales to be located near its fuel source (coal). The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each year. Australia is positioning itself to tap the potential boom in hydrogen fuel, if its adopted globally as a replacement for petroleum. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. As outlined in the budget speech and subsequent announcement, the budget allocation has a funding cap of $8.7m, which is below that which Delta requested, leaving a substantially higher quantum of funding by Delta, Delta said in the letter. Environment groups say an ageing coal-fired power station in New South Wales that sold for hundreds of millions of dollars may be operating in breach of the states clean air laws. Officials from the department told Senate Estimates in March that they were aware that Shine Energy was likely to fail to deliver a bankable feasibility study into a proposed Collinsville coal fired power station after an audit undertaken by the Australian National Audit Office found the $4 million in grant funding awarded to the company was not enough to ensure the study could be completed. Mr St Baker said Evie Networks was moving into a capital-intensive phase with the rollout of 300 fast charging stations around Australia, while he was also involved in developing e-mobility in the Philippines. With this acquisition we will significantly strengthen our presence in Australia, said Sev.en chief executive Alan Svoboda. He floated the proposal only two weeks after the NSW Environment Protection Authority ordered Vales Point owner Delta Electricity to clean up a huge part of the power stations ash dam after dumped asbestos was found in building waste fill. Environment Justice Australia and the Nature Conservation Council have questioned whether the renewal of a licence granting the plant operators exemptions from some pollution standards for nitrogen oxide is valid because, they say, Delta applied for the renewal after the deadline. Mr St Baker, who bought Vales Point power station from the NSW Government for a song in 2015 and made $113 million in profit on the deal in 2017-18, has outlined plans for a new plant at Liddell or Vales Point as part of a $6 billion proposal for three coal-fired power stations in NSW and Victoria. The NSW Government has responded to the closure of Eraring by saying that to ensure energy reliability, it will work with industry partners to install the Waratah Super Battery, a 700MW/1400MWh grid battery, by 2025 to release grid capacity so Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong consumers can access more energy from existing electricity generation.. He dismissed the suggestion that Vales Point would close earlier than 2029, particularly given the impending closure of its near neighbour, Liddell Power Station, in 2023. Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates, sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, seeking approval to pay a senior barrister. The decision by the EPA now allows for these conditions and limits to remain in Deltas Environmental Protection Licence, Delta spokesman Steve Gurney said. Mr St Baker said he was looking for international investors after Australian banks and major lenders ruled out exposure to coal project funding, in part because of climate change stranded asset risks. the Liddell plant is owned by AGL which has rejected . Environmental Justice Australia director of advocacy and research, Nicola Rivers, said it was gob-smackingthe Australian Government would look to Mr St Baker as they seek energy solutions for the future, particularly given his companies rejection of infrastructure to limit pollution from existing power stations. The EPA ruling has fuelled concerns that NSW may face an energy supply crunch in the coming years as coal swiftly exits the market. Childhood asthma in the region has also been found to be extremely high (50% greater than in Sydney in spite of city transport fumes) and there is strong evidence that students who attend schools within a 10 Km radius of a coal fired power station have a reduction in learning outcomes due to the emissions from burning coal. It is also gearing up to invest more in the business as it seeks approval for a license to allow mining to continue until 2029. The EPA has the chance to take a good look at this before issuing the new owners with a licence to pollute, she said. It leaves the Morrison governments UNGI program has still having supported no new generation investments, despite being first announced in October 2018, and announcing a dozen shortlisted projects more than two years ago. Billionaire Trevor St Baker will reignite plans for a 20-year extension of NSW's Vales Point coal power station amid fears the early closure of Origin Energy's giant Eraring plant may lead to market volatility and higher prices. Vales Point Power Station sale completed December 18, 2022 by Merilyn Vale Sev.en Global Investments has announced it has completed its acquisition of Delta Electricity Pty Ltd, the parent company of the Vales Point Power Station and the Chain Valley Colliery. Mr . The only way to educate irresponsible people is to hit them in the pocket, Central Coast Council will amend planning controls to make way for a five-storey development on six consolidated parcels of land at 43-46 The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach, despite receiving 95 submissions, Parking at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals will be free for patients, staff and visitors if either the Labor party or the sitting Liberal-National parties are elected to Govern on March, Copyright Coast Community News 2022 - Phone 4325 7369, Free hospital parking says Labor, Libs and Nats post election, Umina Beach singer eliminated from Australian Idol, Mariners appoint A-League Womens head coach Emily Husband, Council amends planning controls to make way for five-storey development at Ettalong, Labor puts people with disability at core of its agenda, Councils development application blowout woes, Council set to sell commuter/shopper carparks at Woy Woy, on "Eraring closure has no impact on future of Vales Point", Little being done to protect health of northern residents, Council slated for misleading statements over boarding house, Major parties outline plans to take the region into the future, Detached houses decline in favour of multi-unit abodes, Government funding for new cabins at two holiday parks, Review of health care services at Long Jetty centre, The go-to guide for community services across the Coast, Special exhibition brightens hospital corridors. Commercial interest has been registered in 24 solar energy projects; 13 onshore and seven offshore wind energy projects; 35 large-scale batteries and eight pumped hydro projects. Correspondence obtained through an earlier FOI request shows that Delta Electricity and the department undertook negotiations throughout 2020, ahead of funding being awarded in the federal budget. In order to supply coal to the station, three mines were opened; Chain Valley Colliery, Newvale No.1 Colliery and Wyee State Mine. It is one of the chief causes of yellow-brown smog. [3], In September 2022 Sunset Power owners announced the sale of Vales Point Power Station to a Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments.[4]. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW. Sev.en has shown a clear interest in energy businesses in Australia, ensuring that it is well-placed to provide reliable generation through the energy transition, he said. Alinta Energys Hong Kong-based owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is understood to have fielded approaches for the Australian business, which includes the large Loy Yang B coal power generator in Victoria. We call on Federal Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers and the NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy, the Hon Matt Kean, to refuse the proposed sale of Vales Point Power Station to Czech company Sev.en. The value of the NSW coal power plant was cut to $156 million, down from $732 million in 2017 when power prices skyrocketed after the closure of the Hazelwood power station, documents. Cockle Creek Power Station was located in Teralba, New South Wales, Australia on the banks of Cockle Creek. It was commissioned in 1978 and is located on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie. Owners of Vales Point power station turn down $8.7 million grant, blaming the Morrison government for taking too long to approve funds for turbine upgrades. Energy Australia will close the Yallourn power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley in mid-2028, four years ahead of schedule, and build a giant battery instead. POWER magnate Trevor St Baker is expected to lodge a proposalwith the Federal Government today for a new Hunter or Central Coast coal-fired power station with a Chinese joint venture partner. Mr Kean will say the region has strong potential for green hydrogen, fuelled by renewable power sources, due to its access to existing energy infrastructure, sustainable water sources, ports and logistics. Coal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter. The NSW EPA noted that environment department modelling found that ground-level concentration of NOx in the community meets national health standards. It listed Eraring, Vales Point and Mt Piper in NSW and Yallourn in Victoria as most vulnerable. . We also request confirmation that Vales Point coal-fired power station will close in 2025 and will not receive another exemption licence. (Delta Electricity have also flagged the possibility of the proposed plant being built on the the site of the nearby Liddell power station, which is slated for closure in 2022. Vales Point Power Plant is owned by Delta Electricity, but in September the company announced that the plant is being sold to Czech family investment group Sev.En Global Investments. It has been announced that the ageing Vales Point coal-fired power station on the Central Coast, NSW is to be sold by the Australian Delta Energy to the Czech fossil fuel investment company Sev.en, owned by billionaire Pavel Tyka. Sev.en Group is a global, experienced and responsible operator of conventional power plants. A failure to act is no longer an option, Mr Chappel said. A longstanding advocate of the need for round-the-clock dispatchable coal power, Mr St Baker said his decision to sell was more to do with wanting to redirect capital into his interests in electric vehicle charging than in any diminished conviction about the continuing need for coal-fired power as the transition to low-carbon power progresses. NOx emissions can harm peoples health, contribute to respiratory illnesses and can cause asthma in children and the elderly. St Baker said that financing the projects would not be sought from Australian banks but instead would rely solely on international lenders. Mannering Park Progress Association spokesperson Sue Wynn said a new coal-fired power station at Vales Point was the worst news Mannering Park and surrounding areas could possibly hear. The Morrison governments low emissions investment road map is technology neutral which meanspublic funding is availableto green and blue hydrogen. The Vales Point coal-fired power station near the shores of Lake Macquarie, in NSW.Credit:James Whelan. The WHO annual guideline for NOx of 10 ug/m3 (4.87 ppb) is regularly breached at monitoring sites close to the Vales Point power station. 4), for a total of 875 MW. 4 was brought into use in 1966. The region has significantly higher than national rates of six cancers: Colorectal (14% higher), Head & Neck (26%), Kidney (23%), Liver (26%), Lung (28%) and Pancreatic (17%). . The proposed plant would adjoin the existing 1320 MW Vales Point power station owned by Delta Electricity. The sale reportedly netted Delta $200m despite the company paying only $1m to buy it from the NSW government in 2015, prompting the states opposition to accuse the Coalition of having dudded taxpayers over the sale. Wikimedia. Please correct the marked field(s) below. However. The grant was to pay for upgrades to a turbine at the Vales Point power station, increasing its thermal efficiency, allowing an additional 30MW of output for the same amount of coal burnt. The EPA also stipulated that Delta must investigate, mitigate and report on the causes of NOx emissions when the 1320-megawatt generator operates at less than half its capacity. [1], In March 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Delta Electricity's proposal had been shortlisted but provided no details.[2]. The pair, who famously bought the generator for $1 million from the NSW government in 2015 and then revalued it at $722 million two years later, agreed to sell their respective 50 per cent stakes in Delta Electricity, the owner of the plant, to the family company Sev.en Global Investments. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy. [5] The balloon loop opened in March 1980. Delta Electricity knocked back in February a $9 million government grant to upgrade one of the plants turbines. As previously revealed by RenewEconomy, Delta told the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in December that it would not proceed with a formal application for $8.7 million in grant funding that had been set aside in the 2020 federal budget. Vales Point was commissioned in 1978, and its two turbines generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 11 percent of NSW's energy. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. The black coal burned at Vales Point is more expensive than Yallourns brown coal, Mr Everett said, but Vales Point could be run with more flexibility to quickly ramp output up or down to better match demand limit production costs. Eraring is now scheduled for closure in 2025 and will leave Vales Point as the last electricity-generating station standing on Lake Macquarie, however, Vales Point is also scheduled for nominal closure in 2029. AGL said it was still committed to its plans for Liddell. Local health professionals have analysed government health data and found shocking evidence of high cancer rates among residents in suburbs surrounding the power station and its coal ash dam each year an extra 107 cancer cases and 58 cancer deaths above the national average. In 1978, two Toshiba 660 MW units were added, becoming "B" Station. Custom Content. Mr St Bakers announcement came as the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report on Monday showing Chinese finance is increasingly stepping in as the lender of last resort for coal plants, as other banks take active measures to restrict their funding. . Key points: Energy Australia will build a 350 megawatt, utility-scale battery in the Latrobe Valley by the end of 2026 The giant coal-fired Yallourn plant has been operating for 47 years Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. We already have really low NOx emissions, lower than Bayswater and Mt Piper, and we are doing operational changes, and we believe that we will meet whatever the requirements are going to be.. The Toshiba 660 MW turbo-alternator became the standard in New South Wales, with similar units later being installed at Eraring, Bayswater and Mount Piper. On Tuesday the NSW energy minister, Matt Kean, declined to weigh in on whether the sale was appropriate, but said the government would remain vigilant over the plant operations. The EPA granted Delta an exemption to the licence, however, the exemption went hand in hand with an order to reduce daily levels.