{"id":48249,"date":"2021-03-09T07:06:03","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T20:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=48249"},"modified":"2021-03-10T15:25:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T04:55:21","slug":"victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &#8220;Fail&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_48250\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\" alt=\"Coal power pollution in Victoria\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-48250\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yallourn_Power_Station#\/media\/File:Coal_power_plant_(8623298309).jpg\">Stephen Edmonds<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After spending more than 3 years reviewing operating conditions for coal power plants, Victoria&#8217;s\u00a0 Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is finally done &#8211; and its decisions have been found lacking.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The licence review involved Victoria\u2019s three brown coal-fired clunkers: Yallourn, Loy Yang A and Loy Yang B. The process also included public consultation, which resulted in 493 submissions from the community.<\/p>\n<h2>What The EPA Says<\/h2>\n<p>The EPA states the new conditions aim to protect the local environment and provide greater transparency on brown coal fired power station emissions. Among the changes to licencing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Limits for mercury, fine particles (PM2.5) and coarse particles (PM10) for each power station.<\/li>\n<li>Air discharge limits for most parameters reduced for all three.<\/li>\n<li>Yallourn must install a continuous emissions monitoring system with the capability of monitoring oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide in real time.<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring of extremely hazardous carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, highly toxic or highly persistent substances that may threaten the beneficial uses of the air environment under licence added.<\/li>\n<li>Exemption hours for start-ups and shutdowns varied.<\/li>\n<li>Yallourn and Loy Yang A had licencing changes requiring rehabilitation plans for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-coal-ash-mb1119\/\">coal ash dumps<\/a> and implementation of mine dust controls.<\/li>\n<li>Wastewater discharge limits for most parameters reduced<\/li>\n<li>The power stations are required to continually share emissions data, which will be posted on their associated websites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>EPA Executive Director of Regulatory Standards, Assessments and Permissioning Tim Eaton <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.vic.gov.au\/about-epa\/news-media-and-updates\/news-and-updates\/epa-finalises-power-station-licence-review\">stated<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Through our licence review we\u2019re reduced emission limits and are making sure that the community has the best information about the emissions coming from power stations in a timely matter. The health of the local community and the environment is EPA\u2019s first priority, and these additional requirements will ensure both remain protected.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Environment Victoria: &#8220;An Outrageous Failure&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>While the EPA isn&#8217;t done yet as it will further amend all licences to ensure consistency with the Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 (the Act) starting in July this year, Environment Victoria was not impressed; calling the EPA&#8217;s effort a &#8220;disgrace&#8221;.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;It completely fails on climate AND toxic pollution. There are no limits on greenhouse gas pollution and the review has only fiddled around the edges on toxic air pollution.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The organisation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/environmentvictoria\/posts\/10159137468446753\">says<\/a> coal burning power stations account for 40% of Victoria&#8217;s carbon emissions and the EPA was &#8220;missing in action on the biggest environmental threat of our time&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Environment Victoria is considering its legal options to challenge what it says is an outrageous failure and is calling on the state&#8217;s Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Lily D&#8217;Ambrosio to step in and address the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The Victorian Greens likewise <a href=\"https:\/\/greens.org.au\/vic\/news\/new-coal-fired-power-station-licences-fail-limit-greenhouse-gas-emissions-or-protect\">slammed<\/a> the lack of carbon emissions restrictions, and also said the mercury \u2018cap\u2019 is so high it won\u2019t actually reduce mercury pollution. It states the EPA&#8217;s decision wasn&#8217;t just a blow for the climate, but also the Latrobe Valley community living with the impacts of local coal fired electricity generation.<\/p>\n<p>While the results of the EPA&#8217;s licence review may be disappointing, one of these power stations could have all its emissions reduced to zero in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ieefa.org\/ieefa-australia-coal-plant-closures-imminent-as-renewable-energy-surges\/\">Recent analysis<\/a> by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Green Energy Markets indicates Yallourn W could be under significant financial stress by 2025 due to the huge amount of wind and solar energy supply expected to be added to the National Electricity Market (NEM) over the next few years. Yallourn W is currently scheduled to commencing closing in 2029, with completion in 2032.<\/p>\n<p>However, Loy Yang A isn&#8217;t scheduled to close until 2046 and in the case of Loy Yang B, 2048.<\/p>\n<p>On a related note, last week Secretary-General Guterres urged OECD countries to commit to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/guterres-coal-power-mb1892\/\">phasing out coal power by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE March 10:<\/strong> This morning, EnergyAustralia <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energyaustralia.com.au\/about-us\/media\/news\/energyaustralia-powers-ahead-energy-transition\">announced<\/a> Yallourn power station will retire in mid-2028 instead of 2032, and committed to building a 1.4 GWh battery by 2026. In one fell swoop, the closure of Yallourn will see EnergyAustralia\u2019s carbon dioxide emissions reduce by over 60 per cent relative to today. According to Environment Victoria, Yallourn spews the most climate pollution per unit of energy generated of any power station in Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After spending more than 3 years reviewing operating conditions for coal power plants, Victoria&#8217;s\u00a0 Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is finally done &#8211; and its decisions have been found lacking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":48250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &quot;Fail&quot; - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Victoria&#039;s Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &quot;Fail&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Victoria&#039;s Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &#8220;Fail&#8221;\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":701,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/\",\"name\":\"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review \\\"Fail\\\" - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"Victoria's Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Image: Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 2.0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/solar-battery-news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &#8220;Fail&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SolarQuotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/solarquotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/au.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/solarquotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\",\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Michael Bloch\"},\"description\":\"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/michael\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review \"Fail\" - SolarQuotes Blog","description":"Victoria's Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review \"Fail\"","og_description":"Victoria's Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Bloch","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Bloch","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1"},"headline":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &#8220;Fail&#8221;","datePublished":"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/"},"wordCount":701,"commentCount":6,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","articleSection":["General Solar &amp; Storage News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/","name":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review \"Fail\" - SolarQuotes Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-08T20:36:03+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-10T04:55:21+00:00","description":"Victoria's Environment Protection Authority has finally finished its coal power station licence review, and its decisions have angered some.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Image: Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 2.0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-pollution-mb1908\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Victorian EPA Coal Licence Review &#8220;Fail&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1","name":"Michael Bloch","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Michael Bloch"},"description":"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/coal-pollution-victoria.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-cyd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47828,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/morewell-power-station-mb1888\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":0},"title":"Morwell Power Station Chimneys Toppled","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The two remaining chimney stacks at the former Morwell Power Station (Energy Brix Power Station) in Victoria were successfully brought down on Saturday morning. Construction of the powdered brown coal burning, emissions-intensive power station and briquette works commenced back in 1949 and electricity production at the plant began in 1956.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Morwell Power Station chimneys demolished","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/morwell-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/morwell-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/morwell-power-station.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/morwell-power-station.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/morwell-power-station.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51871,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/bayswater-pollution-penalty-mb2064\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":1},"title":"Another Bayswater Power Station Pollution Penalty","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined AGL Macquarie Pty Limited for an \"alleged\" water pollution offence at Bayswater Power Station - again. Bayswater Power Station is a 2,640 MW coal burner situated south of Muswellbrook generating approximately 15,500 GWh of electricity a year. That generation is accompanied by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bayswater Power Station","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bayswater-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bayswater-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bayswater-power-station.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bayswater-power-station.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bayswater-power-station.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31214,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-coal-reliability-mb1099\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":2},"title":"Victoria&#8217;s Coal Fired Clunkers NEM&#8217;s Most Unreliable","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"June 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Coal power in Victoria accounts for approximately 13% of the National Electricity Market\u2019s gas and coal capacity, but 32% of its gas and coal breakdowns says The Australia Institute (TAI). A new report from TAI states Victoria\u2019s gas and coal power fleet is the most unreliable in Australia; with Loy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Victoria coal power unreliable","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victoria-coal-power.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victoria-coal-power.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victoria-coal-power.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victoria-coal-power.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victoria-coal-power.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18426,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alinta-loy-yang-renewables-mb0419\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":3},"title":"Alinta To Roll Out More Renewables, But Loy Yang B To Burn On &#8211; For Decades","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alinta Energy says acquisition of the brown-coal fired Loy Yang B power station in Victoria will enable it to significantly increase the company's investment in renewable energy assets. Alinta Energy owner, Hong Kong's Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), finalised acquisition of the power station on Monday. A 1,000MW facility, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loy Yang B and A coal fired power stations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/loy-yang-b-coal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/loy-yang-b-coal.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/loy-yang-b-coal.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/loy-yang-b-coal.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48318,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/yallourn-closure-taylor-mb1912\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":4},"title":"Angus, About The Yallourn Power Station Reliability Thing","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor was quick to try and set folks on edge after the announcement Victoria's Yallourn Power Station will be retired in mid-2028. Yallourn Power Station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley is a brown coal fired generator that spews the most climate pollution per\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Angus Taylor - Yallourn Power Station closure","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/yallourn-closure-taylor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/yallourn-closure-taylor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/yallourn-closure-taylor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/yallourn-closure-taylor.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/yallourn-closure-taylor.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38091,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/yallourn-legal-action-mb1443\/","url_meta":{"origin":48249,"position":5},"title":"Environmental Lawyers Launch Yallourn Power Station Legal Proceedings","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Lawyers at Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) last week commenced legal proceedings to secure documents relating to pollution control technology at Yallourn. Yallourn Power Station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley is powered by brown coal ripped out from Australia's second-largest open-cut mine that is situated adjacent to the facility. Around 18 million\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yallourn Power Station","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/yallourn-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/yallourn-power-station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/yallourn-power-station.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/yallourn-power-station.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/yallourn-power-station.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48304,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48249\/revisions\/48304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}