News | 17th May, 2010

Call to shut coal-guzzling power station

Monday, 17 May 2010
ABC News

Environment Victoria says the Hazelwood Power Station in the Latrobe Valley can be shut down within two years without compromising Victoria's electricity supply.

The group has released a report that claims replacing the brown coal-fired power station with clean energy projects would reduce Victoria's greenhouse gas emissions by 12 per cent a year.

Environment Victoria spokesman Mark Wakeham says it could be achieved without reducing the state's electricity supply.

He says it would also create more jobs across Victoria.

"The report shows that bringing online the clean energy replacements for Hazelwood would create around 2,500 jobs in the construction of the clean energy projects and potentially around 2,000 jobs in renewable energy, gas-fired power stations and energy efficiency," he said.

"Hazelwood is the most polluting power station in the country and it's a very good place to start if you want to reduce both Victoria's and Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

"The replacements are available, they're ready to go. And it would be a fairly silly politician who wasn't looking at this as a real opportunity."