Pilot project probes brown coal booster [February 06, 2006]

A PROCESS that could improve the efficiency of Victoria's Latrobe Valley coals -- already one of Australia's cheapest energy sources -- is to be investigated in a new project funded by industry and government.

A Mechanical Thermal Expansion (MTE) pilot plant costing $6.3 million will be built at Loy Yang that will dry 15 tonnes of coal an hour by the middle of next year.

The aim is to reduce the water content of Latrobe Valley coals meaning that their main customers -- electricity generators such as Loy Yang Power -- receive feedstook that has a substantially higher energy content per tonne.

If successful, the process will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Construction of the pilot plant is scheduled to start in May. Victoria's Energy Industries Minister Theo Theophanous said the MTE technology had been developed over several years by the Co-operative Research Centre for Clean Power from Lignite.

The centre says brown coal power generation provides more than 85 per cent of Victoria's electricity, and underpins the state's competitive advantage through the provision of reliable base load generation at low prices relative to Australia's competitors.









But the centre says the relatively high greenhouse gas emission intensity of brown coal power generation provides a potential challenge for industry in a carbon constrained future.

The development and commercialisation of cleaner brown coal power generation technologies will enable brown coal to continue to play an important role in the energy mix.

Mr Theophanous said MTE could reduce the high water content of the coal before it was used in power stations.

"This project is one of the best prospects for keeping electricity prices competitive while also reducing the impact on our environment," he said.