Batchelor: Victorian carbon capture project heralds era of climate change solutions
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Minister for Energy and Resources
The world-class carbon dioxide storage project launched today at Nirranda in Victoria’s south-west has put the international spotlight on the state’s climate change research.
Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor marked the beginning of carbon dioxide injections into the vast subterranean reservoirs with the Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, saying the project was Australia’s first carbon dioxide storage demonstration project to come into operation.
“The Brumby Government is taking action on climate change and is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing $6 million for this project, which is conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) and will involve the injection of 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide deep underground,” Mr Batchelor said.
“The world-class subsurface carbon dioxide monitoring of this project puts Australia at the forefront of research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions and will allow us to clearly demonstrate that carbon storage is possible on an industrial scale.
“The carbon storage technology that we are beginning today is mimicking nature, which has safely stored gas and oil underground for millions of years.
Mr Batchelor said that the Brumby Government would be looking at the results of the Otway Project to confirm that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can play a major part in achieving deep cuts to Victorian greenhouse gas emissions by permanently storing carbon dioxide underground.
“This project will help Victoria lead the way in addressing climate change and can meet the target set by the Brumby Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, compared to 2000 levels,” Mr Batchelor said.
“Victoria has vast brown coal resources and the Otway Project, coupled with technology to allow the capture of carbon emissions from brown coal-fired electricity generation that are currently being developed in Victoria, will ensure these resources can be developed in a clean and sustainable manner.
“The success of this project is expected to provide major long-term benefits for the Latrobe Valley, where industry and the surrounding community are very closely linked to brown coal electricity generation.
“The Latrobe Valley, which has long been Victoria’s power house, is located close to the Gippsland Basin, where depleted gas and oil reservoirs provide a number of potentially suitable locations where the carbon dioxide emissions from power production could be stored using the technology we’re launching today.
“This geography and geology of these two locations is almost unique in the world and the Brumby Government is determined that once CCS technologies are proven, they will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Latrobe Valley region, as well as our environment.
“The launch of the Otway Project is a major step forward in increasing our knowledge in technology, regulatory framework and community consultation processes associated with CCS.
“This project has been a great collaboration between industry, government and the community, and the Brumby Government will continue to explore new technologies such as CCS, to ensure we can reduce our environmental footprint for future generations.”
For more information about the Otway Project, log on to www.co2crc.com.au.
