Victoria's brown coal is a clean coal, with low levels of impurities and ash. It is also found in massive, deep structures that are very cheap to extract using open cut methods.
This coal has been used to produce abundant and affordable electricity and has helped to sustain Victoria's high standard of living. It has also supported the development of Victoria's robust economy.
However, Victorian coal contains around 60 to 65% water, and produces high levels of greenhouse gas when it is burnt.
The Victorian Government is committed to greenhouse gas abatement and sustainable energy. It therefore supports a range of strategies to reduce emissions including strategies that support the development of renewable energies and energy efficiencies.
It also supports the development of new technologies to reduce emissions from coal.
One technology that may be particularly beneficial to Victoria is geosequestration, sometimes called carbon capture and storage. This technology aims to capture CO2 from major sources such as power stations and inject it into deep, permanent underground storage.
Victoria is well placed to apply this technology give the proximity of the Latrobe Valley to some of the world’s best potential storage sites, located in nearby Bass Strait.
However, there are still issues to be addressed before the Victorian Government and the international community are assured that this is an appropriate greenhouse gas abatement technology.
The Paper Geosequestration - Putting the Carbon Back (PDF 684KB) has been written to provide information to the community to help them understand this technology and its potential to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions.
To view the PDF document you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. A free copy can be downloaded from the Adobe website (external link).
