Energy Technology Innovation Strategy

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This article is part of the CoalSwarm coverage of Victoria and coal
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The Victorian Government's Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS), according to the Department of Primary Industries website, aims to "ensure the timely availability of economically and environmentally competitive brown coal power generation, distributed generation, energy efficiency and renewable and enabling technologies to boost industrial and regional economic growth for Victoria by providing a concerted and coordinated public and private sector action"

The program is administered by the Department of Primary Industries.

Background

The State government, through the 2005 ETIS program, committed over $187 million to a range of “low emissions energy technology initiatives”, of which more than half was handed to the coal industry. Of this, $50 million was given to HRL, a 2002 coal recipient, and $30 million to a new CCS project at the existing Hazelwood Power Station.

Since this time, the Government’s own advice stated that the costs of CCS make it unviable to retrofit carbon capture technologies to existing generators.

In 2008, around $200 million in new ETIS funding was announced, with two thirds of this money to be handed to the coal industry for ‘clean coal’- $127.4 million. This includes $110 million to again establish new CCS projects.

A future cost linked to CCS in Victoria is the construction of a 90km pipeline at a cost of around $650 million. This additional major cost may need to be met by the State Government, or in the least, heavily subsidized.

Both the 2005 and 2008 ETIS disproportionately fund the coal industry, providing more financial support to the coal industry than development of energy efficiency, renewable energy resources and natural gas combined. Despite its great potential as a significantly lower emission transition fuel, natural gas has received no funding through ETIS.

Contact details

Energy Technology Innovation Division
Department of Primary Industries
GPO Box 4440
Melbourne VIC 3001
Phone: 61 3 9658 4193
Fax: 61 3 9658 4915
Email: dpi.etis AT dpi.vic.gov.au
Webpage: http://www.new.dpi.vic.gov.au/energy/projects-research-development/etis

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