Clive Palmer's company, Waratah Coal, is seeking to build a $3.5 billion, 1,400 megawatt "low emissions" power station on a cattle property in Queensland.

The decision notice — issued on November 2 — also listed a number of concerns the department said informed its decision.

  • “The project, as proposed, would sit among the top 100 greenhouse gas emission sources in Australia,” the notice said.
  • "Based on Queensland’s 2019 total greenhouse gas emissions, the project would increase Queensland’s emissions output by approximately 5.73 per cent.
  • “The project is expected to impede Queensland’s achievement of its renewable energy targets of 50 per cent by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2032, and the national and Queensland commitments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”
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    2•1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Clive Palmer’s proposed new “carbon neutral” coal-fired power station has been refused an environmental licence amid concerns it would become one of the top 100 greenhouse gas emitters in Australia if given the green light.

    Mr Palmer’s company, Waratah Coal, is seeking to build a $3.5 billion, 1,400 megawatt “low emissions” power station on a cattle property near the central western Queensland town of Alpha.

    The project is still being assessed by Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles, but two weeks ago the state’s environment department rejected the environmental authority application, saying the proposal would “contribute to the impacts of climate change”.

    It said approving the project would be “considered unequitable in relation to the impacts to future generations”, who would be “forced to manage, mitigate, finance and adapt to global climate change threats”.

    The notice also said that while the project was likely to employ 1,000 people during construction and up to 90 during operation, the proposed social and economic benefits — when balanced against the “seriousness and irreversibility of the threats of climate change” — do not weigh in favour of approval.

    “The assessment will look at the project’s potential impacts on nationally listed threatened species and communities, including the koala, black-throated finch, ornamental snake, squatter pigeon and yakka skink,” a department spokeswoman said.

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