Kurri Kurri Gas Power Plant Proposal Cops It In Submissions

It appears many Australians are unhappy about the Federal Government’s proposed Kurri Kurri gas-fired power plant, aka the Hunter Power Project.

First, a bit of background.

The proposed $610 million Hunter Power Project at Kurri Kurri in New South Wales’ Hunter Region will be a 660MW beast should it go ahead. Snowy Hydro says it will be capable of running initially on up to 10% hydrogen, and with a bunch more bucks thrown at it, up to 30%.

“Capable” doesn’t mean “will” and Snowy Hydro notes this is subject to fuel logistics. Also, not all hydrogen is “green” – it can be produced using fossil fuels. The Hunter Power Project may not even run on any sort of gas initially. There could be up to six months of diesel-only operation according to the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (page 196).

The document also reveals the power plant’s likely operations would result in a capacity factor of about two per cent in any given year.

“This means that in an average year, the proportion of actual energy generated by the Proposal, compared with its potential output if operated at full load for every hour of the year (expressed as megawatt hours), would be in the order of two per cent.”

The same document pegs operational phase emissions at 500,299 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum, making for an emissions intensity of approximately 0.52 tonnes CO2 equivalent/MWh (Scope 1 + 2). That’s significantly less than a coal burner (0.7 – 1.1 CO2e/MWh) , but significantly more than wind or solar (0).

It was recently reported the cost of the  project could turn out to be a lot higher – up to 50 per cent or even more. But even if Kurri Kurri came in at budget (and it’s rare projects of this scale do), it’s an expensive bit of emissions-spewing kit – particularly when considering new build solar or wind + storage is cheaper and doesn’t have the emissions to boot.

Furthermore, the Climate Council says:

“This gas power station will drive up power prices, discourage private investment in clean energy and create very few jobs.”

So, given all this, why the heck does the Morrison Government want to see it built? It’s a really good question that is yet to have a really solid answer to support the Hunter Power Project proceeding.

Hundreds Of Submissions Slam Project

Of the 257 submissions relating to the Hunter Power Project’s Environmental Impact Statement, reportedly only 2 were in support of the project and 217 were opposed.

Concerned parents from Australian Parents for Climate Action made 37 submissions against the project. We’ve mentioned this group in the past in connection to their push for solar power and batteries at all Australian schools.

The group is urging the NSW Government to reject the proposal and asking the state government to support the manufacturing of solar panels in the Hunter Valley.

“Supporting solar manufacturing in the Hunter instead would help the region to transition to a climate safe economy,” states the group. “Australian Parents for Climate Action see this manufacturing as a win-win for Hunter jobs and families, and have tied it to their proposed Solar Our Schools ask of the Federal Government to fund solar and batteries for all schools and early childhood centres.”

Among the public authorities to lodge a submission was the NSW EPA, which noted:

“The EPA has reviewed the EIS and notes that it does not provide the information required by the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements to adequately assess the potential impacts to air quality and noise.”

All the submissions and other project information can be viewed on the NSW Major Projects web site.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kurri-hunter-power-project-mb2042/