Coal port at Hastings?
December 2013
Documents that Blue Wedges obtained last year using Freedom of Information revealed that the former Brumby government had plans for Hastings which included coal exports in the business case. Given the Napthine government is using project costs and projected trade volumes for an expanded Hastings that are almost identical to the Brumby plan, it is pretty likely that coal is still on the agenda.
The Port of Hastings Development Authority has confirmed that it is working on plans for a minimum of 9 million containers per annum through the Port of Hastings by 2060.
And- that's almost four times the current throughput of the Port of Melbourne!
Exergen, a power company claiming to have clean coal credentials, has also built a case for coal to be transported as slurry in a pipeline from the LaTrobe Valley to the Port of Hastings, and then treated/de-watered on site, for export through the Port of Hastings. This was revealed in a 2011 document obtained by Environment Victoria under FoI. Brown coal cannot be exported in its natural state due to its high moisture content and risks of spontaneous combustion. Exergen states that the upgraded coal would be exported to lndia, Japan, Korea and other locations in North Asia.
What a hideous vision for Hastings, and what an appalling contribution to our Australian and global Greenhouse gas emissions.
And- that's almost four times the current throughput of the Port of Melbourne!
Exergen, a power company claiming to have clean coal credentials, has also built a case for coal to be transported as slurry in a pipeline from the LaTrobe Valley to the Port of Hastings, and then treated/de-watered on site, for export through the Port of Hastings. This was revealed in a 2011 document obtained by Environment Victoria under FoI. Brown coal cannot be exported in its natural state due to its high moisture content and risks of spontaneous combustion. Exergen states that the upgraded coal would be exported to lndia, Japan, Korea and other locations in North Asia.
What a hideous vision for Hastings, and what an appalling contribution to our Australian and global Greenhouse gas emissions.
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