Lack Of Water, Shitty Finances, Ancient Tech Plague Qland Coal Plant, But It Still Got $4 Million
Carbon emissions from a new coal-fired power station at Collinsville in north Queensland would be comparable to generators built in the state 15 to 20 years ago, according to sources familiar with the proponent’s submissions to the federal government. Guardian Australia has learned the company behind the proposal, Shine Energy, has held discussions about obtaining a concessional infrastructure loan from the federal government via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. In February the government awarded Shine $4.4m to conduct a feasibility study. The grant was broadly considered a concession to pro-coal Queensland Nationals MPs.
The new information about the proposal – obtained by sources with knowledge of Shine’s closely guarded business case and other information submitted to the federal government before it was awarded the feasibility study grant – casts doubt on key public claims about the environmental merit and commercial viability of a Collinsville plant. Shine said it could not respond to questions, claiming that details of its proposal were confidential. The company indicated that aspects of the project might have changed since it submitted documentation to the federal government but it would not provide any detail.
The company has pitched its Collinsville coal proposal as having the potential to reduce carbon emissions by allowing the closure of higher-emitting power stations elsewhere in the state. But a lack of available water allocation at Collinsville poses a technical challenge for the financing, design and construction of any plant that would emit a lower proportion of carbon, compared with the last generation of coal plants built in Queensland – which has the newest fleet in Australia.
Shine has submitted information that shows that by using a dry-cooling system the plant’s emissions intensity would be comparable to the last two plants built in Queensland – Kogan Creek, commissioned in 2007, and Millmerran, commissioned in 2002. Both produce emissions at a rate slightly above .80 tonnes of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/23/proposed-queensland-coal-fired-power-plant-collinsville-emissions-financing
