Today’s announcement of Federal and State Government support for two major Victorian greenhouse-friendly energy projects shows that the economy and the environment are not mutually exclusive and can indeed complement each other.
The Solar Systems Generation Plant at Mildura and International Power’s Hazelwood Power Station in the Latrobe Valley will receive funding from the Federal Government’s Low Emission Technology Demonstration Fund and the State Government’s Energy Technology and Innovation Strategy program.
“The Hazelwood investment is cognisant of the fact that if Governments want to act strategically to position the State for a carbon-constrained future, such action must be cognisant of Victoria’s comparative advantages and economic realities”, says VECCI Chief Executive Officer, Neil Coulson.
“As a competitively priced, secure and reliable source of electricity, brown coal provides 85 percent of Victoria’s electricity and it will continue to dominate base load power generation for many years to come.
“VECCI has for a number of years supported brown coal drying as a possible method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while retaining investment and jobs, and is delighted that International Power’s Hazelwood Power Station will be the first in the world to undertake 100 percent combustion of dried brown coal in a generating unit that traditionally uses high moisture brown coal”, says Mr Coulson. |
