The Australian and Victorian Governments will collectively provide $100 million towards the development of Victoria’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project - CarbonNet.

 

CarbonNet is the second project selected for funding under the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program.

 

The CarbonNet Project aims to capture carbon emissions from power plants, industrial processes and new coal-based industries in the Latrobe Valley and store it in geological basins.

 

The combined funding of $100 million ($70 million from the Commonwealth and $30 million from the Victorian Government) will support feasibility work as part of the $1 billion plus CarbonNet project to demonstrate low emission brown coal electricity generation in the region.

 

The Commonwealth Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson said clean energy innovation like this could help power stations cut their emissions while continuing to secure the economic prosperity of the region.

 

“Investment in CCS is part of the Commonwealth’s suite of support for a range of clean energy technologies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time,” Minister Ferguson said.

 

“The economic base of the Latrobe valley depends on brown coal and while the Government is committed to cutting CO2 emissions, the last thing we want to do is cut jobs in the process.  Projects like CarbonNet will help shape a new economic future for this critical region.”

 

The Victorian Department of Primary Industries manages the CarbonNet Project.  The feasibility work will include modelling and testing of potential CO2 storage sites.

 

In addition to announcing funding for CarbonNet, Minister Ferguson also announced that the Victorian Government has been awarded an offshore tenement for CO2 storage site exploration in the Gippsland Basin. Further, both governments awarded the HRL Dual Gas project a final six-month extension on the previous date of 31 December 2011 to meet the conditions of the respective funding deeds.

More detail on the Flagships program is at www.ret.gov.au/energy/clean/ccsfp/Pages/default.aspx and the project at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/energy/sustainable-energy/carbon-capture-and-storage