‘Clean coal’ – an expensive gamble
Victoria To Gamble Billions On Clean Coal by Energy Matters 4 Nov 09 Documents leaked to The Age reveal the Brumby Government is about to take a multibillion-dollar gamble on ”clean coal‘. The news comes after a recent revelation that the Victorian Government also wishes to export millions of tonnes of brown coal, the filthiest of fossil fuels, from Victoria each year.
The Age report says the Government will kick off an education campaign around carbon capture and storage (CCS) to make Victorians aware of the challenges facing the state under emissions trading.
95% of Victoria’s electricity is sourced from the combustion of brown coal, the most emissions intensive source in Australia. The Victorian ecological footprint is triple that of the world average, with energy generation and consumption having the biggest impact.
The leaked papers acknowledge the clean coal plan may not work and while the government believes renewable energy will eventually replace fossil fuels, the state will rely on a mix of renewable and fossil energy for decades. The Age says no mention was made of the role of residential solar power in the effort to reduce the state’s carbon emissions.
The coal mining industry will be pleased with the news as clean coal technologies require more energy; therefore more brown coal will need to be mined. However, the end consumer will end up paying much more for electricity – up to 78 per cent more according to a recent report from the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute; who also stated clean coal technologies will not be commercially viable for another 20 years.
Victoria To Gamble Billions On Clean Coal : Renewable Energy News
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