A federal government proposal to pay for coal-fired power stations with public money from a clean energy fund has sparked further debate over the future of Australia's electricity supply. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg announced the government may instruct the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in so-called 'clean coal' power plants...
The government signalled it will also try to change the rules governing the fund so it can invest in carbon capture and storage -- a controversial technology that can lower the CO2 (carbon-dioxide) emissions of coal power stations by pumping the gas back into the ground.
The Commonwealth-funded Clean Energy Finance Corporation has invested millions of dollars in wind and solar farms around Australia. It has also invested in low-emissions streetlights, and new technology aimed at extracting energy from agricultural waste.
The Act that governs the fund only bans it from putting money behind two technologies: one is nuclear power, and the other is carbon capture and storage.
Now, the government says it may try to lift the ban on the latter. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says carbon capture and storage is worth exploring.
Carbon capture and storage is a controversial technology whereby carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants are captured and pumped deep underground.
Advocates of the technology say it can dramatically reduce the CO2 emissions of dirty generators, while critics say the gas can sometimes leak back out of the ground. The government may also instruct the fund to consider investing in advanced coal-fired power stations that would produce less CO-2 than traditional brown coal plants.
But opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler says any investment in coal would cut against the purpose of the corporation, which was set up under the Gillard Labor government to boost investment in renewables.
