The World Wildlife Fund has delivered a report in which it names one of the most pollution intensive power plants in the industrialised world as Australia’s 40-year-old Hazelwood plant, located in Latrobe Valley, Victoria.
The plant, says the WWF, produces more CO2 per unit of electricity than the dirtiest plants in countries like the United States, Germany, Canada, the UK and Japan in a comparison of pollution intensity figures for large-scale coal-fired stations from 30 industrialised countries.
However, a spokesman for majority owners International Power reportedly rejected the WWF findings, saying the WWF had used emissions statistics selectively.
Hazelwood has apparently reduced its emissions by almost 7% since 1996 after spending some $400 million on improvements.
The Victorian state government is currently considering Hazelwood’s proposal to expand its coal mining operations and extend the life of the power plant to 2031.