The Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Trade, the Honourable Stephen Robertson, Anglo American plc Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll and Energy Developments Limited (EDL) Managing Director Greg Pritchard today officially opened a new $60 million, 45 megawatt Waste Coal Mine Gas (WCMG) Power Station at Moranbah North, now operating at full capacity and delivering low emission, clean energy to provide enough power for nearly 50,000 homes.
The Moranbah North power project is owned and operated by EDL and supplied with waste coal mine gas sourced from ACA’s Moranbah North Mine to run 15 – 3 MW engines to produce base load power to the grid, with the effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.3 million tonnes of CO2eq annually, the equivalent of taking 330,000 cars off the road.
Mr Robertson said he was delighted to see such a successful collaborative project between the mining and energy sectors.
“This power station is a good example of two companies joining forces to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by generating electricity using WCMG which would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere,” Mr Robertson said.
“This power station takes waste coal methane gas, which is 21 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, and other noxious gases and turns them into base load electricity,” he said.
The power plant will be one of the first to create Renewable Energy Certificates under the Federal Government’s recently passed Renewable Energy Target legislation that comes into effect in 2011.
Speaking at the event, Ms Carroll said this project was the second time Anglo Coal and EDL had come together to reduce emissions, with another power plant previously opened at German Creek in 2007, also located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
“Both initiatives are testament to Anglo American’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, while globally forming a significant part of the Group’s overall emissions reduction strategy,” Ms Carroll said.
“The combined greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of the two power stations are considerable, estimated at approximately 2.3 million tonnes of CO2e annually, the equivalent of planting 3.6 million trees or taking 580,000 cars off the road.
“This project highlights Anglo’s and EDL’s commitment to reducing our carbon footprints,” she said.
“Communities are demanding action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs, and Anglo and EDL have met that challenge with this $60m investment in regional Queensland, creating 11 full-time jobs and two contractor positions,” Ms Carroll said.
Mr Pritchard said capturing and using methane for energy was not only vital to ensure safety in Australia’s gassy coal mines, but also had the critical benefit of managing dangerous greenhouse gases.
“Another success with the power station was Anglo and EDL’s safety priority of Zero Harm being carried across during the construction of this power station (more than 400 days), with not a single lost time injury for employees or contractors involved,” he said.
Mr Pritchard said EDL was committed to pioneering the collection and combustion of WCMG to create clean energy solutions, with the project bringing significant environmental and community benefits and delivering healthy returns to shareholders.
“EDL continues to demonstrate its ability to develop, construct and operate infrastructure that produces cost-efficient, reliable and clean energy for its customers,” Mr Pritchard said.
Mr Pritchard said both EDL and Anglo welcomed the recent Federal Government and Coalition amendments to the Renewable Energy Target, with WCMG now recognised as an eligible energy source and therefore enabling the WCMG industry to generate Renewable Energy Certificates.
“The amendments were a win for the environment and win for our two companies, who for some time now have both been extremely proactive in finding productive uses for WCMG,” Mr Pritchard said.
“We are of the view that that these arrangements can be further expanded to allow for new WCMG power stations and expansion of existing power stations, with the opening today demonstrating why this is so important.”
For further information:
Anglo Coal Australia:
Jacqui Strambi, Communications Specialist:
Tel : + 61 (0)439 774 526
Anglo American:
James Wyatt-Tilby, Media Relations
Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8759
Energy Developments Limited
Media John Frey Cosways +61 2 9929 8344
CEO Greg Pritchard + 61 7 3275 5650
Notes to Editors:
Anglo American plc, one of the world’s largest mining groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, it is a global leader in platinum group metals and diamonds, with significant interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, as well as an industrial minerals business. The Group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia.
www.angloamerican.com
Energy Developments Limited is an international provider of renewable energy and low greenhouse gas emission energy. The Company currently owns and operates a diversified international portfolio of power stations in Australia, the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom with a total capacity of approximately 600 MW from a range of fuel sources including landfill gas, waste coal mine gas, natural gas and liquefied natural gas.