The proposed HRL 400 MW coal fire power station received a push towards construction on July 1, 2008. Victorian government announced its approval of what is being positioned as the first cab off the rank of a new generation of so called 'clean coal' power stations in Australia. Far from being clean the HRL proposal will, if allowed to go ahead, be a disaster for climate change.
The HRL proposal has been beset by financial and siting issues including construction budget blow-out from $500 million to over $750 million dollars. HRL was originally to be located near the Latrobe Valley's Loy Yang 'A' coal facility. As part of the July 1 announcement of state government approval of the proposal, it was announced HRL will now be situated adjacent to the Loy Yang B coal station. Questions of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIS) and other regulatory issues related to changed locations for the project remain unclear. While the timeline for HRL has been continually changing with construction originally set to commence in 2007 and delaying until at least 2009, with an expected timeline for operations 2013 changed from earlier estimates of 2010-11.
The HRL proposal will burn 2.4 million tonnes of brown coal a year emitting 2.4 to 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere annually. HRL has been promoted as one of the new generation of so-called 'clean coal' power stations as it will reduce emissions from burning brown coal by 30%, giving it the emissions standards of a black coal power station, and may be adaptable to carbon capture and storage (CCS) if this technology is ever proven safe and viable.
The Australian Climate Justice Program and Greenpeace took HRL to the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2007 as promoting HRL as 'clean coal' is misleading. Since that complaint to the ACCC HRL have refrained from calling this specific proposal 'clean coal' while supporters are still describing this project as so-called 'clean coal'.
With the Victorian state government giving approval to HRL, and $50 million dollars in taxpayer funded grants (federally HRL has received $100 million in government grants), the need for a strong campaign to stop this coal fire power station and establishing a moratorium on all new coal fire power stations is urgent!
Scientific evidence shows we are on the brink of an age of runaway climate change, fuelled by our reliance on dirty fossil fuels sources such as coal, and especially brown coal; upon which HRL will be reliant. To pull our planet back from the brink of runaway climate change we need to stand up and create real action on climate change; consisting of a moratorium on all new coal fire power stations and a just transition towards a future powered by renewable energy solutions.
Friends of the Earth are leading the campaign to halt the proposed HRL coal fire power station in the Latrobe Valley and bring about a moratorium on all new coal fire power stations. We need your
support to make this happen, as it is on of the most important steps we can make in turning around runaway climate change. By accessing our online campaign tools to stop HRL, becoming a financial supporter of the HRL campaign and joining our campaign for a moratorium on new coal fire power stations we can stop new coal fire power stations like HRL, get a moratorium on new coal fire power stations and take real action on climate change!
For more information on HRL and how you can get involved see the Climate Change pages on this site or go to www.foe.org.au