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This year, AGL made a number of strategic investment decisions which have further reduced the greenhouse intensity of our operations. 78% of AGL’s owned and/or controlled generation capacity is now low or zero emission1. With the completion of all assets under development (including proposed gas and renewable projects), this figure could increase to 93%.
AGL has a policy to not invest in new conventional coal fired generation capacity unless it is constructed utilising carbon capture and storage technology.
AGL has 353 MW of new renewable generation capacity under construction. Following the completion of the Hallett 1 Wind Farm in 2007/08, construction work on the Hallett 2 Wind Farm is continuing with the 71 MW wind farm due to be completed in 2009/10.
In March 2009, AGL announced construction of the 132 MW Hallett 4 Wind Farm. The Hallett 4 Wind Farm will consist of 63 2.1 MW turbines to be purchased from Suzlon Energy Australia Pty Ltd. The Hallett 4 site is located 220 km north of Adelaide and immediately north of the Hallett 1 Wind Farm. The long-term average wind speed at Hallett 4 is estimated to be greater than 8.5 metres per second (m/s), similar to the wind conditions prevailing at the Hallett 1 and Hallett 2 wind farm sites.
The 140 MW Bogong hydroelectric power station in Victoria is nearing completion. The project allows for 140 MW of additional renewable generation capacity with positive effects on river flows.
AGL is considering a number of new renewable energy projects across a range of technologies:
A table outlining all of AGL’s renewable energy projects under development is available in the About AGL section of this report.
AGL has continued to own and operate hydroelectric assets in New South Wales and Victoria. These provide AGL with 645 MW of zero emission generation capacity. AGL also continues to operate, maintain and dispatch renewable electricity from the Hallett 1 Wind Farm.
At 30 June 2009, renewable generation assets comprised 26% of AGL’s total owned and/or controlled installed capacity. When combined with our assets under development, approximately 30% of AGL’s owned and/or controlled generating capacity will be renewable. No other privately owned company operating in Australia has a portfolio with such significant renewable assets.
AGL is continuing to operate landfill gas generation facilities. These include the Gosnells and Rockingham sites in Western Australia, the Shoalhaven site in New South Wales and the facilities at Hobart and Glenorchy, both of which are located in Tasmania. Flaring activities are continuing at a number of landfill sites across Australia. In addition to these assets, AGL is also operating the largest biogas facility in Australia at Werribee in conjunction with Melbourne Water and large cogeneration projects for Symex in Port Melbourne and Coopers Brewery in Adelaide.
AGL owns and operates the 1,280 MW Torrens Island power station in South Australia and the 150 MW Somerton power station in Victoria. These gas fired assets produce significantly less greenhouse emissions than an equivalent sized coal fired power station. In addition to being low emission, the assets also provide AGL with significant portfolio management capabilities due to the quick start nature of the assets.
AGL is developing a range of new gas fired generation assets. In total, over 5,000 MW of new gas fired capacity is at various stages of development across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. These are outlined below.
A table outlining all of AGL’s gas fired generation projects under development is available in the About AGL section of this report.
AGL continues to support the development of the renewable energy industry through the purchase of large volumes of renewable energy. AGL purchases power from a number of renewable energy generators. These include: hydro generators owned by AGL such as Dartmouth, Eildon, Mackay, Clover, West Kiewa, Pindari and the Rubicon scheme, wind farms operated by AGL such as Wattle Point and Hallett 1 under Power Purchase Agreements; and non-AGL owned facilities such as the Canunda Wind Farm. By agreeing to purchase large volumes of renewable energy, AGL is able to provide project developers with the necessary certainty to move ahead with projects.
AGL is working with Better Place Australia to provide renewable energy for their planned rollout of electric vehicles. In one of the most transformational projects ever seen in the Australian transport sector, Better Place has outlined plans to sell electric vehicles which will utilise ‘battery swap stations’. The stations will allow vehicles to quickly exchange a depleted battery with a newly charged one, rather than having to wait for the current battery to recharge. This project is likely to involve substantial additional volumes of renewable energy to be sourced by AGL.
1 Low emission includes renewable and gas fired generation.
