GREEN DEALS: Is CSG cleaner than coal?

CLIMATE SPECTATOR reports:A new report commissioned by the peak body of the oil and gas industry suggests that claims coal seam gas exports are up to 70 per cent cleaner than coal exports over their life cycle may not actually be valid. The report by Worley Parsons finds that this is true when compared to coal technologies that are no longer deployed, but it also finds that the life-cycle emissions of CSG may be higher than those of black coal used in the most modern coal plants currently being built in China.

Accounting for the life-cycle emissions of CSG has become a highly contentious point in the debate about the industry, and resistance to it, in particular, from the farming community. The Worley Parsons report, commissioned by the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, analyses a range of scenarios comparing CSG used in baseload and peaking plants, with a range of coal-fired technologies used in China.

While in the best case scenario, CSG does match the claims of the industry that it can be up to 70 per cent cleaner than coal, particularly when replacing the dirtier subcritical coal technology that the Chinese no longer build, the report notes that gas-fired power is likely to add to capacity in China, rather than compete against coal. “An existing coal-fired plant will not be taken off line and replaced by a gas fired plant," it says. "And, in general, large supercritical and ultra-supercritical plants of up to 1000MW are being built to replace redundant small, inefficient coal plants.”

In practice, then, the best comparisons lie between CSG and the ultra-supercritical coal plants, which has a base-case emissions of 0.78t/Co2e for every MWh produced. Combined-cycle baseload plants with CSG have a base case of 0.55t/Co2e for every MWh, while open cycle peaking plants have a base case of 0.75t/Co2e for every MWh. The graphs below show the ranges – the first is based on different scenarios on all emissions sources, while the second is just on power plant efficiencies, which can vary widely.

The report notes that, under the worst-case scenarios, supercritical and ultra supercritical coal-fired generation on a life-cycle basis would be superior, with CSG/LNG being 2 per cent and 6 per cent more GHG intensive than best-performing coal. 
 
The issue for Australia is that, because of extraction and compressing processes, around 22 per cent of these emissions occur in Australia, with the rest at the point of consumption, whereas only 2 per cent of coal emissions occur in Australia when black coal is exported. Another issue is that Australia is building more open-cycle gas plants than combined cycle, principally because of increases in peak demand, and because of the ongoing uncertainty around carbon prices.

Matthew Wright, the head of Beyond Zero Emissions, which promotes a 100 per cent renewable grid in Australia and is critical of the rollout of gas, says the report makes it clear that gas exported to China will not be replacing coal. “And the examples show that – with the majority of gas-fired plants in Australia being old and outdated open cycle plants and running at lower efficiencies – in most scenarios compared to new-build coal there would be a substantial increase in emissions.”

Granted

Greenearth Energy says it has finally concluded negotiations with the Victorian government for a $25 million grant to help fund its proposed geothermal energy project near Geelong. The grant had been awarded under the previous Labor government in late 2009 under the Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS), but has been in limbo since the new government was elected. A first tranche of $5 million will help pay for the cost of drilling and flow-test activities, while a further $20 million will be used to fund a 12MW demonstration plant.

Greenearth, which ultimately hopes to build a 140MW plant at the site, will now turn back to the federal government, hoping to regain a grant for drilling that expired under a previous scheme that has now been replaced by the newly created Emerging Renewables Fund. The company is also in talks with Alcoa about potential offtake agreements. "The achievement of this milestone after many months of negotiations is most welcome and underpins the potential value this flagship conventional geothermal project holds for the state,” CEO Mark Miller said in a statement.

The grant was also welcomed by the Friends of the Earth, which has been critical of the state’s policies on wind farms. “The Baillieu government has been in power for almost a year. On environmental and climate issues, almost every single announcement to date has constituted a backwards step. We hope this support for clean technology marks the beginning of a change of approach by the Baillieu government,” campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker said in statement. The Clean Energy Council also applauded the Victorian government for recognising the need to invest in projects that would help reduce the carbon emissions of Victoria’s power sector and potentially make a major contribution to the state economy. “The industry is looking forward to fostering a closer working relationship with the government on projects such as this one,” policy director Russell Marsh said.

Capital idea

Infigen Energy says it has received project approval from the NSW Planning Assessment Commission for a proposed 100MW extension to its Capital wind farm near Bungendore, east of Canberra. The 41-turbine Capital 2 project will potentially expand the Capital renewable energy precinct, which already consists of the 141MW Capital wind farm and the 48MW Woodlawn wind farm. A 50MW solar farm has also received project approval, although the Infigen board has yet to give the green light to either the solar farm or the Capital 2 extension.