Queensland takes lead on clean coal technology

Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson told a national clean coal conference in Brisbane today that meeting the challenges of climate change would require solutions that have a significant global impact.

Minister Wilson said coal would continue to play a role in the global electricity generation mix.

“It’s hard to imagine Queensland’s electricity generation mix without coal in any scenario in the next twenty years and that’s simply because we have more than 32 billion tonnes of high-quality, low-cost, easily-accessible coal to last for more than 300 years,” Mr Wilson said.

“Coal-fired generation accounts for more than 80% of total electricity generated in Queensland.

“We need to strike the right balance between the need to produce coal and the need to protect the environment and the jobs of the 18,600 men and women who work in the coal industry.

“Queensland is seen as a leader in adopting highly efficient coal-fired power generation systems.

“All three of the country’s super-pulverised fuel combustion power plants are in Queensland. The Kogan Creek power station will be our fourth when it opens later this year.

“Kogan Creek will set a benchmark for the environmental performance of coal-fired power stations with 22% lower greenhouse gas emissions, using one-tenth of the water of conventional power stations.

“We are also developing the world’s first oxy-fuel clean coal power plant at Biloela and investing in the ZeroGen project near Rockhampton, which is a world-first integrated gas combined-cycle demonstration plant designed to capture and store carbon emissions.

“We are investing $300 million into research and development of clean coal technologies. If you combine industry contributions of $600 million, that’s a total of $900 million,” he said.

“Our government’s Smart Energy Policy targets significant increases in renewable energy and the use of gas.

“The Bligh Government takes its responsibilities seriously and has come up with sensible, workable solutions that strike the right balance,” he said.

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