South Australia: The last coal train rolls into Port Augusta

The last train carrying brown coal from the Leigh Creek mine to the Northern power station in Port Augusta rolled into the town last week – less than a fortnight before the state’s last coal-fired generator is to be switched off for the last time.

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The coal train was pictured here arriving at Stirling North pedestrian crossing, just north of Port Augusta last Wednesday. The power station owners, Alinta, held an event to mark the occasion. It was attended by long-term coal plant employees, and proponents for a new solar tower and storage facility north of the city.

Port Augusta mayor Sam Johnson told the meeting that the town had enjoyed a rich history in coal-generation, but was now preparing for a new energy transition. He said renewables offered the hope for new jobs as the old coal plants are closed.

South Australia is expected to reach 50 per cent renewable energy generation by the end of the year – the highest penetration of “variable” renewables such as wind and solar in the world for a significant-sized grid.

The transition is expected to be the centre of fierce debate over the future of the energy system. The Australian Energy Market Operator has said there should be no issues for the grid and the withdrawal of the coal fired power station will not reduce reliability. The coal generator is due to be switched off next Monday.

One company is proposing to use new technology to “gasify” the brown coal resource at Leigh Creek and use it for a large base load gas plant. Underground coal gasification has been banned in Queensland, but the South Australian government does not plan to follow that example.

“There is no need to politicise this process – the approval or otherwise of the proposed coal gasification project at Leigh Creek should be based on science,” energy and mineral resources minister Tom Koutsantonis said in a prepared statement for RenewEconomy.
“Leigh Creek Energy will need to pass rigorous environmental impact assessments overseen by expert scientists if this project is to go ahead. We have a very effective regulatory framework in South Australia and the merits of the Leigh Creek Energy project will be assessed against that framework, not this decision in Queensland.”

Comments

3 responses to “South Australia: The last coal train rolls into Port Augusta”

  1. Farmer Dave Avatar
    Farmer Dave

    The new Leigh Creek proposal will need the construction of the underground gasification infrastructure at the coal field, the construction of a gas processing plant at Leigh Creek to clean up the tarry gas their process is likely to produce, the construction of a gas pipeline to Port Agusta, and then the construction of a base load (combined cycle) power station. All this needs to be cheaper than new wind farms or new solar PV farms. They must be dreaming! I think they would be lucky to be cheaper than a solar thermal with storage plant.

  2. Geoff Avatar
    Geoff

    man some people just can’t let go of the fossil fuel era can they! what is with that?
    ludicrous idea to “gasify” coal. the cost alone will not make it fly and who would want to buy it? base load is a myth and it’s time people woke up to that.

  3. KGB Avatar
    KGB

    SO THE IDIOTS PROPOSE TO USE THE GASIFICATION SYSTEM THAT DESTROYED SO MUCH QLD LAND??????? WHO VOTES FOR THESE MENTALLY INCOMPETENT MORONS? WHEN GREED & STUPIDITY FUCKED OUR PLANET! THERE IS NO PLANET B AND WE HAVE BEEN SO LUCKY WITH PLANET EARTH……..THESE IDIOTS SHOULD BE CULLED! ….. MORE SO THAN KOALAS, KANGAROOS & BRUMBIES!

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