With acknowledgment of the economic dominance of the electricity and coal mining industries in the area, the government issued its Latrobe Valley Industry and Employment Roadmap yesterday.
Designed under the premise that the federal carbon tax is a deliberate attempt to encourage the premature closure of Latrobe Valley coal-fired power stations, the roadmap includes early actions and interventions to create employment and stimulate new investment as the power sector restructures.
The document notes that the “contract for closure” program seeks closure of up to 200 megawatts of highly emissions-intensive coal generation capacity by 2020, which may result in the full or partial closure of one or more Latrobe Valley generators and loss of high value jobs in the region.
Though the state plan encourages diversification of the economy through promotion of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, continued development of the Latrobe Valley as an energy hub has been identified as a priority.
The government said brown coal would continue to provide the core of Victoria’s base load electricity generation for the foreseeable future and was also a potential source of value-added products such as gas, diesel and fertiliser.
Investment in the region’s infrastructure assets was identified as essential to realising opportunities associated with coal development and the future export of coal-related products.
The roadmap called for increased freight handling capacity and infrastructure initiatives including highways, logistics precincts and heavy industry site redevelopment.
The Victorian government will also seek to ensure funding under the federal government’s clean energy future plan to support the development of low-emission technology for Latrobe Valley coal-fired facilities.
Innovation by individual businesses is expected to provide the region with the drive to move from a coal region to an energy hub.
The government cited the energy technology innovation strategy, Brown Coal Innovation Australia, CarbonNet and the Latrobe Valley shallow geothermal project as recent initiatives to build on with respect to increasing competitiveness and access to new markets.
Since publication of the roadmap plan, the Victoria division of the Minerals Council of Australia has applauded the state’s commitment to the development to the region in the face of concerted tax-related challenges.
