GDF SUEZ Australian Energy

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|CoalVictoria}}International Power Australia is a subsidiary of the UK headquartered International Power.

Coal-fired power stations

International Power Australia has interests in:

• the Hazelwood power station, in which it has a 92% interest. The power station is located near Morwell and in 2009 it was estimated to have emitted 16.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e).

• the Loy Yang B power station, which is jointly owned by a consortium of International Power plc (70%) and Mitsui & Co. Ltd (30%) which trades as International Power Mitsui (IPM). The power station is located near Traralgon and in 2009 it was estimated to have emitted 9.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e);

Lobbying on Carbon Pricing

In the 2009 annual report of the global company, International Power's Chief Executive Officer, Philip Cox wrote that "climate change continued to dominate the 2009 political debate in Australia, but how and when carbon dioxide (CO2) legislation will be enacted is still uncertain. This is clearly very important for the power generation sector, given that some 80% of Australia’s electricity is generated by coal-fired plants, which are on average relatively high in CO2 emissions. However, coal-fired power generation provides Australia with enormous benefits, both in terms of cheap electricity – as measured by international standards – and in terms of security of supply, given Australia’s vast indigenous reserves of black and brown coal. The debate is centred on how the environmental, economic and social dimensions of this subject can be reconciled. We remain very actively engaged at both state and federal government levels. Given the uncertainty in the market, we are not forward contracted post July 2011, which is the provisional date for the introduction of a CO2 trading scheme. Within this market context, we were pleased to conclude the restructuring of the non-recourse project debt at our Hazelwood brown coal-fired plant in early 2010."

In the body of the annual report the company noted that the federal government's proposed emissions trading scheme targets were for 5% on the 2000 baseline with a potential to be increased to 25% subject to caveats including the conclusion of a global agreement on cutting global emissions. The company identified that the proposed scheme would have little short term effect due to generous compensation provisions which would insulate the biggest emitters from a carbon prices for a decade. "The legislation proposed that the scheme would be introduced from July 2011 with a period of ten years where, in effect, no charge will be applied for a portion of emissions from coal-fired power plants, and our Hazelwood and Loy Yang B plants would be eligible for this relief. The scheme also included a fixed price for carbon, of A$10/tonne, for the first year of the scheme. This proposed legislation has been approved by the lower House but rejected by the Senate in December 2009. It is expected to be tabled again in May/June 2010 in the Senate, though agreement between the two main political parties looks unlikely at this juncture," the company stated. (The proposed scheme was subsequently put on hold by the Australian government).

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