The coal-fired Vales Point Power Station at Mannering Park could stay open four years beyond its scheduled closure – now 2033 instead of 2029 – following a “reassessment” update issued by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Power station owner Delta Electricity informed the AEMO that an Electricity Statement of Opportunities technical life assessment of the existing generation equipment, ash dam capacity and general condition of the power plant showed that its operations could be extended to 2033 if needed.
By that time its two units would be well over 50 years old, but Interim CEO David Morris says Vales Point has benefited from a “detailed and rigorous maintenance regime throughout its life” which could allow it to continue beyond its normal 50-year lifespan.
The power station currently generates about 10 per cent of NSW’s electricity needs and Delta says its closure date will be subject to market conditions and related commercial considerations.
“Vales Point Power Station continues to be a key asset in the transitioning energy market by providing essential firming capacity to support the growing integration of renewable energy and ensuring a reliable and secure source of electricity,” a Delta statement said.
“Given the uncertainties surrounding the capacity of electricity resources over the next 10 years and the urgent need to maintain system security throughout this period, Delta considers it a responsible step to advise AEMO of the availability of Vales Point Power Station’s capacity”.
The new closing date follows speculation that the closure of the country’s biggest power generator, Origin’s Eraring plant also on the southern shores of Lake Macquarie, might also be at least partially delayed.
It was due to be closed in August 2025, seven years ahead of its previous closure date, but one or two units could be kept open beyond 2025.
The news has been met with a sense of betrayal according to The Greens spokesperson for Climate Change Sue Higginson.
“If we let Vales Point and Eraring coal-fired power stations continue beyond their planned closures we lose hope of reducing our emissions and meeting our net zero targets,” she said.
“We need to make big, bold changes and we need to make them now.”
Spokesperson for local environmental group Future Sooner, Gary Blaschke, said: “We were cynical when Treasurer Jim Chalmers approved the sale of Vales Point to Czech company Sev.en, owned by billionaire Pavel Tykac”.
“As if you’d buy a power station for hundreds of millions of dollars only to see it close in a couple of years,” he said.
“Under the Liberal Government Vales Point received an exemption licence to pollute over the NSW emission limits.
“Now with Labor it gets another four years or more to do the same.”
Future Sooner has been meeting regularly with United Nations representative Halida Nasdic, discussing health issues connected to emissions from the coal-fired power stations, prior to the arrival of the Special UN Rapporteur in August.
“Our meetings with the UN have locked in a face-to-face meeting on the Central Coast – we made such an impact that the UN has also added an extra day to its NSW schedule,” Blaschke said.
“It’s ironic that Australia joins the Climate Club and just as the UN is in talks on toxic emissions, the NSW Government gives Vales Point another four years to pollute even more.
“It shows this government cares little about trashing its own 2030 emission targets and even less about protecting the health of its citizens.
“It will be interesting to see how Special UN Rapporteur Dr Marcus A Orellina feels about that when we meet with him in September.”
Another local group, the Coal-ash Community Alliance, says any extension of Vales Point operation first requires significant reductions in ash dumping and air pollution.
“We remind the private owners and the NSW Government of the findings of the recent NSW Upper House Coal-ash Inquiry which required urgent action to address the ongoing problem of the more than 100 million tonnes of coal ash waste that is stored around Lake Macquarie,” spokesperson Kim Grierson said.
“Where is the investment from the new owners to reduce the excessive air pollution from this plant?
“Where are their efforts to safely re-use the millions of tonnes of coal ash in the ash dumps around Vales Point?
“What are the State Government and the Environment Protection Authority doing about it?”
Research Co-ordinator for Coal-ash Community Alliance, Dr Ingrid Schraner, said: “There is no social licence for an extension of the life of any power station without clear plans on how the new and the old coal ash, which is stored in unlined dumps that threaten our waterways, will be used-up in environmentally safe ways”.
The Alliance is calling for costed plans to empty the coal-ash dams and money to be allocated urgently.
Sue Murray