ERARING – Lake Macquarie Council Calls for Federal Support

 

 BY JESSICA STEENS

 Lake Macquarie Council is calling for Federal support to mitigate the economic fallout which could occur following the closure of Eraring Power Station.

In recent years, the plant has struggled to make profit due to the increasing competitiveness of renewable energy sources.

With a planned 2027 closure date creeping closer, Councillors say the Net Zero Economy Authority will need to step in.

Deputy Mayor Jack Antcliff says failure to prepare for the station's closure could result in economic death by a thousand cuts.

“Lake Macquarie is a city of 14,000 small businesses, we don’t have a single big employer. We don’t have a BHP, we don’t have a Holden. So when we lose businesses, we lose one family business at a time.

“We run the risk if we don’t prepare, in 15 years time we will look back and wonder where all the jobs went” he said.

Council warns the closure is set to cause a loss of 4.5 billion dollars to the local economy and cause 1800 job losses.

Hunter Business CEO Bob Hawes says looking back at previous mining closures, it’s hard to predict the effect on the economy.

“When you look back in history there is certainly some things we have learnt from those experiences and move forward. Sometimes things work out better than you anticipate and sometimes not so” he said.

Eraring Power Station is expected to cease its operations on August 19th, 2027.

Image: Wikimedia Commons / CSIRO

 

 

Origin Gives Final Green Light for Eraring Battery

BY OLIVIA DILLON

Origin Energy Limited has approved the construction of a large-scale battery at the Eraring Power Station.

The energy giant has committed to an investment of $600 million for the project. 

The 460 MW Battery will have a dispatch time of two hours, and is set to come online in late 2025.  

There's also an option to increase the battery to 700 MW and a four hour dispatch in the future.

The project received initial planning approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in May 2022. 

Construction work is set to begin within a matter of weeks. 

BREAKING: Site Announced For New Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre

BY EL FITCHETT

The southern end of Lake Eraring has been selected as the location for a new Sport and Recreation Centre at Myuna Bay.

Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee and Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper announced the decision at a press conference held at the lake end of Payten Street in Eraring this morning.

The original Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre was closed unexpectedly in March 2019 following a safety report from Origin Energy warning the nearby Eraring Power Station ash dam posed a risk to those using the site.

"The former Sport and Rec Centre was in a flow path under some scenarios for liquefied ash to cross over and inundate large parts of the site. But the new site is well and truly remote from any risk from power station activities, certainly the entire village of Eraring is safe from any such risk as well," Greg Piper said.

Roughly a kilometre from the former Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre, the new site is situated on property owned by Origin Energy, with the construction funded by the company.

"Once construction is complete it will transferred to the State," Greg Piper said. 

The Office of Sport will be given a 99-year lease on the new site and will retain ownership of the original Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre.

The chosen site will allow a larger facility to be built, and will be the first new sport and recreation center built in New South Wales for 40 years.

"The evaluation of this site has been going on for quite some time. It ticks nearly all the boxes," Greg Piper said.

It's hoped the new facility will draw the Hunter's water sporting community back to the area for kayaking, canoeing, and stand up paddle boarding. Opportunities for water skiing and other activities are also being considered.

"It certainly won't just be what was at the original Sport and Rec Centre. I'm very keen to see water skiing accommodated at the site. We are looking at how that can be done, perhaps using the same waterway skiers used in the past," Greg Piper said.

"There will be community engagement with existing and historic user groups, and perhaps new ones that will come along. But I think this is an exciting opportunity for sport and rec centres in New South Wales," Greg Piper said.

"While Office of Sport is looking at what sports will be included, they will be simultaneously consulting with neighbors in the area to make sure they minimize any impact on them, if there is any impact at all."

"The consultation with the local community has to be genuine."

How many jobs will be guaranteed at the new centre, for those who were employed at the former centre is still unclear.

Staff were ensured they would be given priority re-employment when the new centre is opened.

"There will likely be more details on this when they start seeing the scale of what can do and what they can provide there," Greg Piper said.

Acting Sport Minister Geoff Lee and Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper address residents and stakeholders December 2019. Image: James Forgacs/2NURFM

New Report Labels Coal Ash Dumps a 'Ticking Time Bomb'

BY LILLY HAINES 

New research released today claims communities in Lake Macquarie and the Hunter situated near coal fired power stations are at serious risk from poorly managed coal ash waste sites.

The report titled Unearthing Australia's Toxic Coal Ash Legacy published by Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) is the first comprehensive national study of coal ash waste management in Australia.

Coal ash is a toxic by-product of coal fired power containing heavy metals including mercury, lead, arsenic, selenium and chromium which can have adverse effects on human and environmental health in nearby areas.  

Report author and EJA Lawyer Bronya Lipski says communities closest to coal fired power stations bear the greatest burden with most sites being extremely close to waterways.

"Lax government regulation and poor management has led to the contamination of groundwater, rivers, lakes, and aquatic ecosystems as well as toxic air pollution from dried out lumps," Ms Lipski said.

Eraring, Vales Point, Liddell and Bayswater Power Stations have all been named in the report as poorly managed ash dump sites with each of the stations described as inadequately lined to prevent groundwater contamination.

The report says most of Australia’s coal ash dumps are unlined meaning groundwater is not properly protected from toxic waste.

"Independent water testing has shown there are higher levels of really toxic contaminants in Lake Macquarie to the point where certain fish and crabs can only be consumed in small amounts compared to other fish and crabs," Ms Lipski said.

Water sampling done earlier this year by the Hunter Community Environment Centre (HCEC) found the creek that takes overflow from the Eraring as dump site has a selenium concentration more than 55 times the level recommended to protect fish and birds.

"Coal ash dumps are a ticking time bomb. All Australian governments need to act now, not wait for disaster," Ms Lipski said. 

She says communities haven't been properly informed about the potential risks and is calling for state parliamentary inquiries into the issue.

"That kind of process is going to make sure that there is a transparency of information and that operators and regulators can be preparing now for rehabilitation and closure plans well before the power stations close," Ms Lipsky.

Eraring Power Station ash dam cells holding coal ash waste. Image: EJA.

Company Secretary of Vales Point operator Delta Electricity, Steve Gurney, questions the scientific validity of the water sampling undertaken by the HCEC cited in the report.

"EJA is a group of anti-coal activists with one state of objection and that is to shut down coal fired power stations and this is another attempt from them to sensationalise the issue to create uncertainty and community fear regarding the operation of power generators," Mr Gurney said. 

Delta says all their testing results have to be undertaken using approved environment protection authority (EPA) guidelines and those results are published monthly on their website.

“The current conditions set by the EPA are very stringent and all the testing shows results well below the international guidelines for fresh and marine environments.

“Testing undertaken on a regular basis shows there is no leeching from these ash dams. Power stations and particularly ash dams are highly regulated with significant oversight by the EPA,” Mr Gurney said.

Manning Park resident Sue Wynn has lived within 2km of the Vales Point power station for over forty years and drives past the ash dam every day.

Ms Wynn says she is concerned about the environmental "devastation" the ash dam has caused in Lake Macquarie.

"That has really affected my life here in that sense because I know that environmental devastation is on my doorstep, and it also has an effect because we want to know that that is safe for our health.

"Because these power stations were built in the 60s, the ash dams were put in and they were unlined, the government did not bring in any stricter environmental pollution control when they had the opportunity to so that sludge is more toxic than it needs to be. 

"We still have 1960s air pollution controls on that power station," Ms Wynn said.

The EJA report recommends state inquiries into coal ash dumps, rehabilitation plans, tougher groundwater regulation, safe containment of existing ash dumps, bond payments to protect communities, national guidelines, and more transparent easily-accessible information on the issue.

Vales Point ash dump from above. Image: EJA.

Origin Approved to Expand Ash Dump Despite Concerns

BY OLIVIA WILSON-WHEELER

The EPA has approved Origin Energy's request to extend its Eraring ash dam despite concerns about potential hazards.

The expansion will augment the ash dump by 50 million cubic metres to allow for 1.3 million tonnes of ash produced at the plant each year.

In 2007, Origin agreed to a planning guideline to reuse 80% of the ash by 2015, but have only recycled around 40%.

The area marked for expansion includes the abandoned Awaba colliery, where one sinkhole has already opened.

Origin Energy claims there is no evidence of toxins leaching from the ash dam, through the mine, into the neighbouring Lake.

NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham says the government should more thoroughly investigate the area, as "sinkholes are likely to connect the toxic ash dam with the abandoned underground mine which will then leak to pollute Lake Macquarie.

"If you don't look you don't see," he said.

"It's clear that this is a massive toxic legacy... utterly unacceptable that they continue to be allowed to pollute.

"The government should stop Eraring in its tracks, stop Origin, it's unacceptable that they're seeking to dump even more of their toxic ash."

Lake Macquarie council said it raised "no objection" provided impacts to the land were acceptable.

Eraring is the largest power station in Australia. PHOTO: Newcastle Herald