Industry urged to explore Victoria’s carbon storage potential in world first release
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27 March 2009
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Victoria’s groundbreaking work in the area of carbon capture storage (CCS) is set to ramp up, with five areas off the State’s coastline named as part of a world first commercial release for exploration to assess greenhouse gas storage potential.
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The Victorian Government is urging companies to bid for the offshore areas as GeoScience Victoria has already identified strong offshore potential for carbon storage in the state.
“The five areas available for bidding in the Gippsland Basin and Torquay Sub-Basin are close to the Latrobe Valley coal fields, which are a world-class energy resource that has provided Victoria with secure electricity since the 1920s.” Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said.
“The Victorian Government has already helped fund a number of important pieces of work to explore CCS, such as the successful carbon injection demonstration project underway in the Otways,” he said.
The Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson said the first ever release of exploration areas for greenhouse gas storage sites formed an important part of the Government's commitment to reducing Australia's carbon emissions while maintaining economic growth.
“Advancing storage technology and capacity is vital to the future of Australia's coal industry and to coal's future as part of the world's transition to cleaner energy pathways,” he said.
"The release of 10 offshore areas for assessment of their commercially viable greenhouse gas storage formations provides industry with the opportunity to plan for CCS businesses in Australia as industrial CO2 streams become available for storage through the deployment of capture technologies over time.
"The 10 greenhouse gas storage assessment areas being released today have been identified as having the best potential in terms of geological suitability and current industry needs and are underpinned by technical data from Geoscience Australia.
"Geoscience Australia's technical expertise will be made available to potential applicants through my department's website (www.ret.gov.au) and meetings with interested parties. I encourage potential applicants to work closely with Geoscience Australia to gain a full appreciation of the potential of these areas and their storage opportunities in the future,” Minister Ferguson said.
Victoria is leading the way on CCS testing, with the State Government providing $2.5 million for the Latrobe Valley Post Combustion Capture project, which last year was the first project to capture CO2 from coal-fired electricity generation in Australia.
In addition, Victoria was the first state to pass stand alone legislation enabling onshore injection and permanent storage of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
“CCS is still in its infancy, but the work being done at both a State and Federal level will ensure Victoria is well positioned to capitalise on both the environmental and investment opportunities if this technology proves successful,” Minister Batchelor said.
Regulations and guidelines to support the new legislation are under development and will be finalised in the third quarter of 2009. The acreage release bidding will remain open until two months after the completion of the regulations.
Minister Ferguson said the release confirmed Australia's place as the global leader in CCS.
“It follows on from Australia’s world first legislation for greenhouse gas storage last year, the Australian Government’s $500 million investment in low emissions coal technology, and its establishment of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute to drive 20 CCS demonstration projects by 2020.
“I am pleased to say the Institute now includes dozens of countries and companies around the world and I welcome the announcement this week that the United States will also participate in the Institute,” Minister Ferguson said.
For further information on the greenhouse-gas acreage release visit www.ret.gov.au.
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