An underground coalmine has been given the green light to dig for a further two years, with the New South Wales planning commission arguing it’s needed to guarantee electricity supply as the state transitions to renewables.
The NSW Greens have warned the move could be challenged in court after the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) gave the green light to Delta Electricity’s extension of its Chain Valley colliery operations, in the Lake Macquarie region, for two years.
But it explicitly prohibited transport of the coal for export or any other domestic use beyond supplying coal to the Vales Point power station.
The commission said the approval was justified because it would support “reliable baseload electricity during NSW’s transition to renewable energy sources”.
In its published statement of reasons, it said the two-year extension “represents the outer limit of what can reasonably be justified in NSW’s policy context of working towards decarbonisation”.
The project is the first coalmine development the commission has considered since the Minns government took office and the first it has had to assess since the passage of the climate change act, which enshrined the state’s emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030, 70% by 2035 and net zero by 2050 in law.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailIn a report to the Minns government last year, the NSW Net Zero Commission warned continued coalmine expansions or extensions were incompatible with that legislation.
The commission said in its reasons that because the Delta project would cease by 31 December 2029 “prior to the NSW Government’s legislated 2030 emissions reduction targets” the “project will not be required to meet those targets”.
The Greens climate spokesperson Sue Higginson warned this was “a narrow and possibly erroneous interpretation of our state’s targets and obligations to reduce emissions”.
“We are currently overshooting our 2030 emissions reduction target,” she said.
“The idea that we can run blindfolded to 2030 and all of a sudden stop and somehow be in compliance with our emissions reduction target and obligations is erroneous.”
Higginson added: “The state’s top legal minds are clear that any new coal is inconsistent with the current law, it is therefore highly likely that if tested this coal approval would be declared unlawful.
“I have no doubt that environmental defenders will be considering heading to the courts right now, to uphold the climate and environmental laws of the state.”
Activist organisation the Lock the Gate Alliance said the commission’s decision to prohibit export of the coal produced by the mine potentially set a significant precedent for other forthcoming mine assessments.
They include three major projects that will be put to the commission this year: Glencore and Yancoal’s expansion of the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) project, Yancoal’s proposed Moolarben coalmine expansion near Mudgee, and Whitehaven’s proposed Maules Creek expansion. The HVO project would be one of the largest considered in the state’s history.
“For the first time the NSW Independent Planning Commission has placed an explicit ban on export coal sales from a project,” Lock the Gate NSW coordinator Nic Clyde said.
“This is an important step and reflects the growing pressure on decision makers to take the climate impacts from coalmining seriously,” he said.
Delta Electricity welcomed the decision, which would support “hundreds of local mining jobs … ensuring a continued, secure local coal supply to Vales Point Power Station”.
“The mine supplies coal exclusively to Vales Point Power Station, providing about 50% of the power station’s coal needs. It plays an important role in supporting reliable electricity generation and system stability in NSW during the energy transition,” the company said in a statement.
A spokesperson said the mine was “committed to a range of measures to mitigate emissions associated with the extraction and production of coal”.
“The supply of coal to Vales Point Power Station from Chain Valley Colliery also helps mitigate coal supply risks associated with international price shocks and logistical constraints, supporting a stable, reliable and affordable energy transition in NSW,” they said.
The commission said in a statement it had “considered issues raised in community submissions and expert materials, including concerns about air quality, traffic, subsidence, biodiversity, water quality, energy security, economic impacts and the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions from the project to climate change”.
It said the time-limited period of the approval was “consistent with NSW’s decarbonisation strategy and the state’s 2030 emissions reduction targets”.
