A new report claims air pollution from the state’s coal-fired power stations, causes close to 280 deaths a year.
The Environment Justice Australia commissioned study – by a University of Newcastle researcher – examined the effect the pollution has on mortality, along with diabetes and birth weights.
“It wouldn’t be hard for those fired power stations to install this modern pollution gear, you have to think that, you know, every car on the road is required to have modern pollution control technology on it, so I think it’s about time the power stations were made to update their pollution controls as well.” – Dr Ben Ewald, University of Newcastle Researcher.
AGL says it’s invested in improving environmental performance, and will retire Liddell station in 2022.
Full Statement:
“AGL knows it is important for the community to understand the environmental impact of power stations.
Air emissions from Bayswater and Liddell comply with environmental laws and environment protection licence conditions set by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
Our plans are to retire Liddell in 2022 and Bayswater in 2035.
Until then, we will continue to invest in Bayswater and Liddell in accordance with all regulatory requirements and the commitments in the AGL Environment Policy.
We are committed to improving the efficiency of our plants, investing in emissions reduction programs and improving our environmental performance.
Our $200 million Bayswater Power Station Turbine Efficiency Upgrade Project, for example, is part of an integrated plan to replace Liddell with a mix of more affordable, reliable and much lower emissions technologies.
Since acquiring Bayswater and Liddell in 2014, AGL has made significant investments to improve environmental performance across both sites, including:
• Improving emissions monitoring and reporting, and the efficiency and reliability of our plants
• More than $8 million in environmental related projects over the last four years, and
• Committing about $40 million over the next five years to further environmental improvement programs and projects.” – AGL Executive General Manager Group Operations Doug Jackson
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