South Australia's Proposed Carbon Emission Limits to Halt Coal-Fired Power Plants

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The South Australian state government will begin consultations with industry and interested groups in early 2011 to set carbon emissions limits for the construction of new power sources. The limits will effectively prevent the future production of new coal-fired power plants in the state.

According to the South Australian Premier, Mike Rann, "the starting point for that consultation will be a limit of 0.7 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) for each megawatt-hour of electricity sent out from new generating plant." The proposed limit is seen as a transitional measure, pending the introduction of a national carbon policy, Rann said.

The South Australian government wants 33% of the state's power to come from renewable sources by 2030, and the proposed legislation is seen as a step toward that goal.

However, the government has shown a willingness to discuss the proposed limits with interest groups and recognizes that the limits may have unseen implications for specific projects, such as off-grid diesel, coal-to-liquids and syngas-generation projects, in which the power generation aspect is part of a larger project.

"The government intends to provide sufficient flexibility in its legislation to be able to recognize and respond to unintended outcomes. This will also take into account innovative approaches for managing carbon emissions that are being planned by project developers," Rann said.

Australia relies heavily on coal for power generation, with almost 70% of the country's power being generated by coal-fired power plants. However, South Australia is much less dependent on coal, with just two such power plants--at Flinders and Playford at Port Augusta--which contribute about 35% of the state's power needs. Both of these power plants use coal from the Leigh Creek coal mine and face major operational changes, including the possibility of conversion to natural gas, as a result of the limited life of the Leigh Creek coal supply.

The majority of South Australia's power is generated from gas-fired power plants, while almost 18%, or about 868 megawatts, of South Australia's energy needs are supplied by wind power, which is more than the combined total of all other Australian states.

A South Australian feed-in tariff for grid-connected solar power systems was introduced in July 2008, which has resulted in the number of such systems increasing from 1,500 at that date to about 18,000 currently.

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