"‘Largest coal mining proposal’ in state’s history floated for NSW
The NSW environmental watchdog has described a plan to extend the life of one of the Hunter Valley’s biggest coal mine operations to 2050 as the “largest coal mining proposal ever” in the state, and warned that the rest of the economy would have to make steeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to compensate.
The extension of Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) from 2025 to 2050 for the north mine and from 2030 to 2045 for the south mine would produce an additional 437.6 million tonnes of thermal coal and 59.7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal for the export market. Thermal coal is the emissions-heavy fuel directly burned for energy, while metallurgical coal is used in steelmaking.
A letter from the NSW Environment Protection Authority warns that the project has significant unabated greenhouse gas emissions and heavily relies on offsets, but there is no information about where the offsets would be generated.
“This proposal is the largest coal mining proposal ever put forward in NSW,” the letter states. “In its current form, the modelling indicates this proposal is likely to make up approximately 14 per cent of future new coal production in NSW between 2024 and 2050 and has significant unabated [greenhouse gas] emissions.”..."
www.theage.com.au
The NSW environmental watchdog has described a plan to extend the life of one of the Hunter Valley’s biggest coal mine operations to 2050 as the “largest coal mining proposal ever” in the state, and warned that the rest of the economy would have to make steeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to compensate.
The extension of Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) from 2025 to 2050 for the north mine and from 2030 to 2045 for the south mine would produce an additional 437.6 million tonnes of thermal coal and 59.7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal for the export market. Thermal coal is the emissions-heavy fuel directly burned for energy, while metallurgical coal is used in steelmaking.
A letter from the NSW Environment Protection Authority warns that the project has significant unabated greenhouse gas emissions and heavily relies on offsets, but there is no information about where the offsets would be generated.
“This proposal is the largest coal mining proposal ever put forward in NSW,” the letter states. “In its current form, the modelling indicates this proposal is likely to make up approximately 14 per cent of future new coal production in NSW between 2024 and 2050 and has significant unabated [greenhouse gas] emissions.”..."
‘Largest coal mining proposal’ in state’s history floated for NSW
The Environment Protection Authority has warned that the rest of the NSW economy would have to make steeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to compensate if the proposal to continue Hunter Valley Operations goes ahead in its current form.