Victorian Brown Coal Resource
Outline
Presentation to SEATS
Latrobe City
Brown Coal – A Charlie Speirs – Director, Clean Coal Victoria
16 August 2013
Latrobe Valley Resource
Strip Ratio of 1:1
COAL AT THE CROSSROADS
CTL
Courtesy of
AGL LY
What Government is doing
BCIA
ETIS
Coal allocation
Co-invests in brown coal
research with industry &
academia
Supports development of
low emissions
technologies
To stimulate investment
to deliver economic
benefits
CarbonNet
Investigating geological
storage to manage CO2
Transition to a lower emissions future
Resource planning
& land use
implications
Community
engagement &
consultation
Infrastructure,
water & rehab.
Clean Coal Victoria
Coal roadmap
Future pathways
for coal
Clean Coal Victoria
Our role
Resource
understanding &
planning
Develop value
parameters –
mining costs &
resource utilization
Develop a
balanced sequence
of mining (SOM)
Consult with
stakeholders on all
aspects of CCV
work
Develop a strategic plan for brown coal
Apply SOM to land
use, environment,
geotech. & hydrogeological aspects
Develop a strategy
for mine
rehabilitation
(incl. native
vegetation)
Develop concept
plans for
infrastructure
(processing &
transport)
Develop a Coal
Roadmap
Demonstrate future
pathways for coal
Coal Roadmap Horizons (Notional)
2010
2020
Planning & demonstration
Horizon 1: What can we do with
existing assets to reduce
emissions. ( 0 to 10 years)
2035
2015
Horizon 2: What can we replace current power
assets with? (Existing world technology )
(+5 years to build)
2050
Horizon 3: What new approaches do we need to continue to use
coal in a sustainable manner? (new inventions 10+ years)
Clean Coal Can be a Reality
Drying coal to reduce water content and increase
energy value;
Increasing the temperature and pressure in boilers raise combustion efficiency;
Gasifying coal to syngas - more efficient combustion
in a gas turbine;
Gasifying to syngas - further processed to high value
products e.g. low sulphur diesel or urea;
Capture the CO2 emissions and permanently
store then deep underground
Applications – not just electricity
Product to Market – Transport Aspects
Mr. Jon McNaught of GHD
Transport Issues - Product to Market
The Gippsland Transport Dilemma
What issue, we have capacity now, what’s the problem?
• Our lignite one of the cleanest coals in the world – just got
water mixed in
• Growing demand for cleaner sources energy, particularly in
China, India, Japan and Korea
• Proven, existing commercial technologies to upgrade our
lignite
• Commercially viable (bankable) projects 1-5Mtpa scale
• Existing transport routes create barriers – higher costs to
get to market (vs competition) reduce viability
The Gippsland Transport Dilemma
• Demand here, now.
• Constrained by infrastructure/logistics path in Victoria.
• Improved capacity, reduced cost path would mean more
projects viable now.
Build it and they will come?
vs
Traditionally only build to reduce bottlenecks
Transport Options
What do we really need?
• Short term – ok
• Medium term - ?
• What COULD it look like - ?
• What is reasonable demand? Supply?
• In what time frames?
• What stages in implementation?
• Other activities/drivers?
Scenarios
• 1-5Mtpa – <5 years
• 10-20Mtpa – <10 years
• 30-50Mtpa – <15 years
• Efficient use of infrastructure considerations
• Funding – who will pay, manage and operate, upgrades?
• Flexibility – in products, timing
• Options to transport material
Transport Options
50Mtpa Option
• Gippsland location, logistics driven to meet ship loading reqs
• 16 loaded trains per day (4 Locos, 90 wagons, 1500m long)
• 9,000 tonnes per train, 32 tonne axle load
• A paradigm shift from Victorian trains today (current limits =
over 80 loaded trains)
The Dilemma
• $3b = $6-7/t onto ship
• Gippsland gets world class rail and bulk port facilities
• Gippsland (and Victoria/Aust) gets new employment
• World gets cleaner energy to meet demand
Vs
• $24 - $40/t onto ship
• Congestion, and world class energy resource lays in wait