BY BELLA MIDDLETON
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| Photo Credit: ABC News |
The Coal-ash Community Alliance has been left angered and with unanswered questions as the Australian Energy Market Operator quietly extended the technical life of the Vales Point power station.
The news of the extension, until 2033, was buried deep inside a spreadsheet released on the AEMO's website, with locals not informed of the re-assessment.
The Lake Macquarie-based Coal-ash Community Alliance is calling on the new owners of the Vales Point power station to release their plans to invest to reduce the excessive air pollution and work to reuse the coal ash created at the plant.
"Any extension of operation of the Vales Point power station first requires significant reductions in ash dumping and air pollution," said CCA member Kim Grierson.
"Where is the investment from the new owners to reduce the excessive air pollution from this plant? Where are their efforts to safely reuse the millions of tones of coal ash in the ash dumps around Vales Point? What are the State government and the EPA doing about it?"
Recent findings in the NSW Upper House Coal-ash inquiry found urgent action is needed to address the ongoing problem of more than 100 million tonnes of coal ash waste stored around Lake Macquarie.
CCA Research Coordinator, Dr Ingrid Schraner, says there should be no extension of life for any power station without clear plans of how the new and existing coal ash will be used in environmentally safe ways.
"What are the plans with the additional ash that's being produced, but much more to the point, where are we at with the process of reusing the existing ash because there is millions and millions of tonnes of coal ash stored around Lake Macquarie," said Dr Schraner.
