Alcoa #Anglesea power station to close, First Victorian #coal domino falls

Published as an original article at Nofibs.com.au

While renewables are being encouraged by the Andrews Government with the proposal for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target, the first domino in Victoria's brown coal fired power industry has succumbed.

Alcoa announced this week it would be closing it's 50MW high sulphur dioxide polluting coal fired power station and mine at Anglesea at the end of August, 2015. Since the Alcoa Port Henry Aluminium Smelter closed in 2014, which used all the power generated and more, this power station has been targeted for closure by the local community in particular the Surf Coast Air Action group, saying the social licence and justification has ended.

SCAA spokesperson Andrew Laird said in a media release, "This is a great outcome for the Anglesea community and for clean air in Australia. It also shows that coal impacted communities can achieve big things when they work together. While we are delighted that the redundant facility will finally close we are also very mindful about the remaining workers and call upon Alcoa to make sure that those who don't wish to take a redundancy package are deployed onto the massive rehabilitation task.”

Alcoa smelter closure opportunity to close coal power at Anglesea and in La Trobe Valley

This week Alcoa announced the closure of it's Port Henry smelter and aluminium rolling mills after a review conducted in the last year. This is a definite employment blow to the Geelong region, coming on the heals of the Ford factory announced closure. But it can provide impetus to reduce carbon emissions for climate change mitigation action by shutting down polluting coal fired capacity now excess to demand.

The Alcoa closure will result in a reduction of about 360MW of electricity currently supplied to the Port Henry aluminium smelter. The Anglesea coal fired power station provides 150MW of this power, which would mean a need to reduce La Trobe Valley generating capacity by about 210MW.

"It is highly likely that existing coal-fired generation at Anglesea, or at Yallourn or Hazelwood, will be mothballed or retired as a result of Alcoa's decision, despite Alcoa's stated intent to try and find a buyer for the Anglesea mine and power station," said Mark Wakeham, Environment Victoria acting chief executive.

I wrote at this time last year that this was an opportunity to close down the highly polluting 150MW Anglesea power station and coal mine, all of the power of which was consumed by Alcoa's industrial processes. See the current Petition to close Anglesea Power Station

It is also an opportunity to expand wind power on the surf coast to increase local employment and power generation. Moving from a polluting brown coal mine and power station to wind turbines should be a no-brainer, but the current state government is beholden to coal intersts and a small cult of anti-wind activists holding back substantial investment in wind farm development in regional areas.

Alcoa to review Point Henry smelter at Anglesea

Alcoa have announced a review of the future of Point Henry Smelter near Anglesea in a press release to the Australian Stock Exchange. The smelter at Point Henry has been operating for 49 years and employs about 600 people. Maybe the government subsidies that prop up an inefficient industrial plant need to be redirected into reskilling, retraining and relocating the 600 odd workers that face losing their jobs. This could provide the perfect opportunity for job creation in the renewable sector with the right range of government incentives. Sadly, the Baillieu track record on wind farms is beholden to the anti-wind farm lobby with Future wind power development in Victoria stifled by draconian planning regulations.

Alcoa Anglesea Coal Mine 50 year lease extension approved by Victorian Government

Anglesea residents presented a petition containing 850 signatures to State parliament on November 23, 2011 calling for an independent study into health impacts of the Alcoa coal mine and power plant, according to a report in the Geelong Advertiser.

In stark contrast to the Government's draconian wind power planning regulations allowing residents a veto if they live within 2km of a proposed wind turbine, approval was granted by the Baillieu Government in late October 2011 to extend the lease for 50 years on the Alcoa Anglesea coal mine which supplies coal to the Anglesea power station for the Alcoa smelter at Port Henry. Residents were shocked by Baillieu coal mine renewal, with Friends of the Earth declaring the decision Ted Baillieu’s worst environmental decision yet. Friends of the Earth claim there are abundant renewable energy options for the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula. Indeed, on November 30 conditional funding of $5million was announced from the Victorian Government to BioPower Systems (BPS) to build a 250kW bioWAVE ocean wave energy demonstration system at a grid-connected site near Port Fairy, Victoria.