AGL is reviving a long-dead gas peaking plant proposal in New South Wales (NSW), but it will need to fight off then protests of horrified locals – for the third time – to get it done.
The proposal is to put a 600-700 megawatt (MW) gas peaking plant on land AGL owns in Dalton, a spot that is very conveniently situated along the route of the 500 kilovolt Humelink transmission line.
Equally conveniently, the site is 3km as the crow flies from the major pipeline bringing gas in from Moomba in central Australia.
On paper, the Dalton site ticks a lot of boxes for AGL: it still owns the 500 acre patch of land; it fits with a plan and a fattened budget to spend on gas peakers and storage; and it’s on major transmission routes.
AGL is still floating the proposal, which includes a possibility to add a battery to the site, and is yet to put a plan into the state planning system.
“We are in the early stages of investigation and will actively engage with community members. No decision has been made to submit a development application,” an AGL spokesperson told Renew Economy.
“AGL is seeking community feedback about the potential development of a gas power station and grid-scale battery on AGL-owned land in Dalton.”
Back to the future
This is not the first time AGL has tried to put a gas power station in Dalton, and some residents in the area are furious they need to oppose it again.
“This is the third time AGL has started the process for the gas powered plant and the area’s residents are absolutely dead set against it,” Dalton resident Glenn Camilleri told Renew Economy.
“The battery component appears to be some greenwash and nothing more. If this was just a battery complex it would be a very different conversation.”
The key issues Camilleri highlighted are similar to those raised 14 years ago: ongoing air pollution, noise, the visual impact of gas exhaust chimneys, the amount of water the plant would need, and traffic changes.
The first Dalton gas peaking proposal secured state planning approval in 2012 for a $1.5 billion 1000 MW open-cycle plant, but was shelved due to market conditions.
At the time, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said subdued electricity demand and surplus capacity pushed out the need for new generation to at least 2018−19.
In 2017, AGL tried to revive the Dalton project by asking for the approval to be extended by another two years.
It received 427 objections and several others mistakenly filed under ‘support’ and ‘comment’ – although like many of the objections to renewable energy projects today, many were form letters from people who withheld their names.
Then-Goulburn MP Pro Goward objected, noting that extending the consent would mean the Dalton project could continue under by then-repealed planning rules, and it should be reassessed under the new system.
AGL folded, telling the Dalton community that it was withdrawing the modification application because of the community response.
“The Dalton community has raised significant concerns about the Part 3A process which led to the approval of this project and the modification for an extension of time made in March 2017,” the AGL statement said, as reported by local media in 2017.
“These concerns included environmental issues, visual impact, AGL’s lack of social license, integrity and approach with the community, as well as the financial losses caused to Dalton residents who invested in property assuming AGL had decided not to proceed with the project.”
That second backdown has stiffened the spines of those in Dalton village who are preparing for round three.
“The Dalton community is united in opposition to this proposal. We’ve done it before and are prepared to do it again,” Camilleri says.
“We’re not just saying “not in my backyard” without alternatives. We understand the need for reliable power as coal plants retire. We simply believe there are better solutions than this.
“Many of us feel AGL should invest in truly clean energy.”
Pull weight with renewables not gas
The idea that the big gentailers should pull their weight by building out more generation, rather than just beefing up their portfolios with batteries, is a bugbear for many in the industry today.
AGL, alongside Origin and EnergyAustralia, have not been proactive about investing in renewable energy to replace their coal fire power plants – Origin’s latest extension of the life of the elderly Eraring coal station is a case in point.
AGL demurs, saying it is investing in renewables, and indeed it did break the wind power financing drought last year with offtake agreements for the Palmer and Waddi projects, in South and Western Australia respectively.
“AGL plans to develop new electricity generation and firming projects across NSW ahead of our targeted closure of Bayswater Power Station by the end of 2033,” the AGL spokesperson told Renew Economy.
But to date those plans are minimal, be it fossil or renewable.
AGL’s electricity generation development pipeline consists of seven wind, solar or pumped hydro projects, and three gas projects of which two are extensions.
The three wind projects are Pottinger in NSW, a buy-out agreement for Hexham in Victoria, and Barn Hill in South Australia, totalling 2.6 gigawatts (GW), according to data from RenewMap and AGL.
It has one large scale solar project, the 231 MW solar arm of Pottinger.
And three big pumped hydro projects proposed for NSW, although only the Muswellbrook project has been put into the planning system.
Dalton, if the idea makes it past the wave of community opposition, would be the fourth in AGL’s book and its only gas-fired generation in NSW, adding to an existing pipeline of 1.13GW of projects in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
What AGL – like Origin – is investing in are batteries.
The company has nine projects in various stages of planning through to commissioning – including at Liddell and Tomago – totalling 3.29 GW of capacity and 9.52 gigawatt hours (GWh) duration.
AGL argues that AEMO sees a need for 15 GW of gas in the National Energy Market (NEM) and that gas peakers are essential for system reliability and backup. But that estimate includes existing kit, and has already been revised downwards, because of the plunging cost and flexibility of battery storage.
And AGL – like others – has form in dumping gas generator proposals for big batteries. It’s what it did at Tomago and what Alinta chose to do at Reeves Plains in South Australia.
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