Coolimba Power Station

Coolimba Power Station is a proposed 450 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant near Eneabba in Western Australia which is being promoted by Aviva Corporation. The company is also proposing a 360MW gas fired power plant at the site as well. The company states that it "hopes to commence construction work on the project in 2009, which will extend over three years for completion in 2012."

Carbon capture ready ... maybe
In a presentation on the project, Aviva state that the power station would be "built from the outset to be capable of rapid conversion to capture CO2 produced during the combustion of coal ... CO2CRC Technologies have been engaged by Aviva in conjunction with ARC Energy to study the potential for sequestration of CO2 from the Coolimba Power Station in depleted oil and gas reservoirs in the North Perth Basin." The company also states that somewhere between the notional commissioning date of 2012 and 2020 it would complete a "feasibility study for conversion to carbon capture and storage for Coolimba Power Station".

Project in freefall
Despite touting the project's potential, the company hit major hurdles. In October 2010 the Western Australian energy supplier Synergy announced that Aviva's Coolimba project had not been selected in its independent power procurement program in 2009. In response Aviva -- which listed AES Transpower Australia, a subsidiary of AES Corporation as its "development partner" -- stated that "without support from Synergy or a similarly credit worthy customer, Aviva is unlikely to continue promoting the project in its own right."

In its 2010 annual report the company lamented that "under current energy policy however, it is unlikely that this project will be developed as an Independent Power Project and is more likely to be developed as a captive energy supply for a large resource project. Aviva believes Coolimba Power remains a viable and competitive solution to WA’s growing energy demand, particularly in the Mid West region."

Later in the annual report the company stated that "development as a vertically integrated power source for one or more iron ore project in the mid-west remains the most likely outcome and the Company has pursued this strategy during the year."

Coal mine rejected
In February 2010 the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) recommended that the Environment Minister reject the application for the Central West Coal Project (CWCP), which was proposed to feed the power station.

Aviva have announced that they will appeal the decision.In a media release the company stated that "the EPA Report referred to supporting advice provided to the EPA by government agencies, that Aviva had not previously been shown. After considering the EPA Report and now having reviewed the supporting advice, Aviva has confirmed that it intends to lodge an appeal to the Appeals Convenor."

Ownership of power project and coal rights
The ownership of the coal rights for the Central West Coal Project and the Coolimba Power station is complex. According to Aviva, since November 2009 the company no longer held "an option over the Coal Rights for CWC and has written down its investment in the project. However, after consultation at that time with Sword Nominees Pty Ltd (Sword), the holder of the Coal Rights, Aviva as the proponent of the environmental approval has continued to pursue EPA approval for the CWC project."

"It should be noted that Aviva received approval from the EPA on 10 March 2010, for the gas and coal fired Coolimba Power Project, followed by Ministerial Approval on 17 September 2010. Aviva has entered into an Exclusivity Period with Sigiriya Capital (Sigiriya) under which Sigiriya can acquire Aviva’s interest in this approved Coolimba Power Project. Sigiriya was aware that the EPA decision for CWC was outstanding and at this time has not withdrawn its interest in the Coolimba Power Project. It is Aviva’s understanding that Sigiriya Capital has held discussions with Sword with respect to the CWC rights but Aviva is not a party to those discussions," the company stated.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Western Australia and coal
 * Australia and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects worldwide
 * Carbon Capture and Storage in Australia

External resources

 * J. Becher & S. Finucane, URS Australia Pty Ltd, S. Jones, Aviva Corporation Ltd, "Maximising Sustainability in a Coal-fired Power Station", Paper presented at the IAIA '08 (The Art and Science of Impact Assessment) Conference, September 2008.