MCA criticises Victorian CBM ban

Victoria’s ban covers all onshore unconventional gas exploration and development, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a technique used widely in the US to exploit shale gas resources, and CBM.

“With mining and minerals processing a large user of electricity, Australia’s ability to compete on the international stave depends on access to inexpensive, reliable energy suppliers,” said Gavin Land, Acting Executive Director – Victoria at the MCA, in a statement.

“This decision removes a safe, proven energy generation option from the energy mix at a time when generating capacity is being diminished with the closure of the Hazelwood power station.”

Engie Australia recently announced that it would close the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley next year.

“The Victorian Government is adopting an anti-science position and turning its back on energy-intensive industries,” Land concluded. “The Victorian Government seems intent on increasing the state’s dependence on expensive and part-time energy sources and committing Victorian households and industry to higher energy prices.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/28112016/mca-criticises-victorian-cbm-ban/