Coal is getting bigger by the hour as the ONLY obvious practical answer to endless CHEAP power for Australian Industry.
Nationals talk up coal after ACCC energy meeting
By David Crowe 13 August 2018 — 2:07pm
Coalition MPs have emerged from a confidential briefing on energy to express increasing confidence about the extension of coal-fired power stations ahead of a crucial vote on the Turnbull government’s energy plan.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims briefed the Nationals party room on 56 recommendations to ease price pressures across the electricity market.
ACCC chair Rod Sims speaks with Barnaby Joyce before addressing the Nationals party room meeting on Monday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
The briefing gave Nationals MPs, including former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, opportunity to consider whether to embrace the National Energy Guarantee when it is debated in the wider Coalition party room on Tuesday.
Nationals MPs told Fairfax Media there were no surprises in the briefing but it was a good discussion on the full list of ACCC recommendations.
One MP said he continued to back the “certainty” offered by the NEG.
Fairfax Media understands Mr Sims made it clear to the Nationals party room that one of the 56 recommendations in the regulator’s pricing report in June should not be described as “underwriting coal” or favouring coal-fired power stations.
Instead, Mr Sims was “unequivocal” that the recommendation was about helping to finance new forms of generation regardless of their technology, ranging from renewables to fossil fuels.
Even so, many MPs see the ACCC finance idea as a big attraction in the argument over the guarantee, which must clear the Coalition party room on Tuesday before going back to state and territory governments for approval.
Qld Liberal National Party MP Scott Buchholz declared the “first tranche” of the new plan would see the owners of coal-fired power stations start to invest in upgrades to keep generating more electricity for longer.
Mr Buchholz praised Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg for charting a “remarkable course” on energy policy and said the likely consequence was a regime that could encourage investment to upgrade coal-fired power stations.
“What we will see in the first tranche, I dare say, by the NEG, is you will see existing coal-fired power stations, with this guarantee subscription, then start investing money in upgrading and taking advantage of more efficient coal-fired power as they go to do their regenerations,” Mr Buchholz told Sky News.
“I think you’ll see that first.
“The time frames for new coal-fired power station lead-in times are around five to six years and we are looking at upwards of $4 billion.”
Mr Buchholz said he wanted to encourage coal proponents to expand coal fired power in the north of Qld to help development.
“If we are genuinely looking to develop the north, the two things that go hand-in-hand with developing new economies are cheap base-load power, reliable so you can get them every day, and water.”
Qld Nationals MP George Christensen emphasised the importance of investing in more baseload power.
"The ACCC briefing instils more confidence in me about the future for investment in new baseload power generation, but obviously that's dependent on the government's response to their report. The response looks promising given reports today," he said.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester said he believed the majority of the Nationals and Liberals would back the energy policy on Tuesday because they wanted the certainty that came with it.
“They want us to move forward with a plan that provides that certainty for future investment, whether it be in coal-fired power or renewable power,” he said.
The idea of keeping coal-fired power stations open for longer is anathema to critics of the NEG, who fear it will stall investment in solar and wind power and fail to address climate change.
A victory on coal for the Nationals backbench may help the NEG get through the Coalition party room but could make it more difficult for Labor state and territory governments, such as those in Victoria and the ACT, to endorse the scheme in the months ahead.
The key ACCC proposal, recommendation 4 in its June report on electricity pricing, was that the federal government should help underwrite new energy generation projects to help them secure debt finance to serve commercial and industrial customers.
“This will encourage new entry, promote competition and enable commercial and industrial customers to access low-cost new generation,” the ACCC said.
Mr Sims cautioned against descriptions of this proposal as a way to encourage coal-fired power because recommendation 4 was neutral as to the form of power generation worth supporting.
“Our focus was on the 56 recommendations and the recommendation in relation to government involvement really is about debt finance. It’s completely technologically neutral, as it should be,” Mr Sims said in Parliament on Monday.
Mr Sims said Mr Joyce asked many questions, as did many others.
“We covered most of our 56 recommendations. I explained that if Australia wants to improve its affordability, if Australia wants to restore its competitive advantage in electricity, then the 56 recommendations need to be adopted as a package,” he said.
“We shouldn’t get side-tracked in looking at particular recommendations. We need to focus on the package and I’m pleased to say today’s discussion really covered the full package of recommendations.
“We spent equal time on network issues, on retail issues, on generation issues and on green issues.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 4zx72.html
