Group to lobby state for Alcoa power shift

MICHELLE HERBISON
A SURF Coast group plans to begin lobbying State Government next week to pay Alcoa for a switch to renewable energy by 2014.
Anglesea Air Action said it would present a petition with more than 500 signatures to Victoria’s Parliament House on Tuesday.
The petition also recommended a study to establish air pollutant levels at Anglesea, the group said.
The campaign follows the Government controversially renewing a 50-year lease on Alcoa’s Anglesea coal mine to continue powering the company’s aluminium smelter at Point Henry.
Anglesea Air Action’s Sonia Ivetac said the open-cut brown coal mine land would eventually extend to within 500 metres of residents’ homes.
“What was the State Government thinking when it renewed the coal mine lease without a health impact assessment?” she said.
The action group planned to meet at Parliament House on Tuesday, with members wearing green to watch the tabling and noting of the petition.
“By simply turning up we will increase the impact of the petition and show the strength of the local and surrounding communities,” the group said in a notice of the Melbourne meeting.
Member for South Barwon Andrew Katos, said the state’s agreement with Alcoa “struck the right balance” between protecting the ecosystem and providing security for the company.
But he said renewable energy’s cost and inability to meet power demands made it “inappropriate and completely unrealistic” for Alcoa.
A spokesperson for Alcoa said the company had investigated natural gas, solar, wave and wind power energy options.
None were available at the price or scale to viably replace the coal-fired power station, the spokesperson said.
“Current wholesale electricity prices range between $40 and $50 a megawatt hour. The lowest cost renewable energy is wind at about $100 a megawatt hour.”
Geelong Chamber of Commerce president Jim Walsh said the pending carbon tax would allow renewable energy companies to compete with traditional power providers.
“The challenge is for alternative energy providers, having been given considerable assistance through the carbon tax, to make competitively-priced energy available. Companies like Alcoa needed to be competitive to survive and provide jobs in the region, so they’ll choose the most efficient energy source available.”