No New Coal in NSW

Two new coal power stations for NSW?
We say: "Enough is enough"

That's right, the NSW government plans to approve two massive new coal power stations. If built, they will spew over 20 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution into the atmosphere each year.

A decision is imminent and we need to stop them going ahead.

With everything we know about climate change, investing in new coal is utter madness.

What's their plan?

The two proposed plans are:

  • Mt Piper, near Lithgow in the Blue Mountains: 2000 megawatt power station
  • Bayswater, near Musswellbrook in the Hunter Valley: 2000 megawatt power station

The government has said these plants will be either coal or gas, but will leave this decision up to "the market" (private sector investors). In reality, there are already massive coal plants at Mt Piper and Bayswater, and all of the infrastructure is set up for more coal rather than gas. And, without a price on carbon pollution, gas is likely to the more expensive option.

For more information, you can check out the NSW Planning website for
Bayswater and Mt Piper

New coal not needed

Instead of building new coal or gas, we should be investing in building a vibrant renewable energy industry in NSW and creating thousands of clean energy jobs.

Current projections of increasing energy consumption show that NSW does not need any new power stations until 2017 at the earliest. But a study from the Institute of Sustainable Futures [PDF] shows that even this shortfall could be met through a combination of modest energy efficiency improvements and distributed energy (renewable and cogeneration). As well as reducing our greenhouse emissions, this approach could save up to $4 billion in energy costs over the next decade.

The price of renewable energy is gradually coming down as technology improves and the industry grows. It's only a matter of time before renewables are cheaper than coal. It is vital that we don't lock ourselves into another 30 years of polluting coal power. And you can bet these two new proposals will.

The key decision makers

Behind the scenes, the plan is being pushed by Joe Tripodi and Ian MacDonald as well as other backroom powerbrokers in the NSW ALP.

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What you can do


Collect petition signatories

Only petitions with original signatures can be tabled in NSW Parliament so we need you to download and print off copies for your family, friends, neighbours, community and workmates to sign as soon as you can. We will then formally table all the petitions in Parliament. We want to make it the biggest official petition that they’ve seen for years.


Write to NSW politicians

You can write to a NSW Cabinet Minister (or to the entire Cabinet) as well as your local member for state parliament.

  • Contact details for Cabinet Ministers are available here
  • Contact details for local members in NSW are available here
.
Some points to mention in your letters:
  • Climate change is an urgent threat and we need to rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions, not increase them.
  • NSW doesn't need new coal-fired power stations. Future energy needs can be met through energy efficiency measures and renewable energy.
  • We should be investing in renewable energy and creating the clean industries of the future.
  • New coal plants should be banned.
  • All new energy should come from pollution-free renewable energy.


Upcoming events

  • 25 February (1pm), NSW Parliament House
    Along with other environmental organisations, we are holding a lunch-time rally outside NSW Parliament House to put the issue of new coal on top of the political agenda in the first sitting week of parliament. We'd like you to join us, and tell your friends to come as well.