NSW Off The Fence
The NSW Government is preparing to add a significant amount of gas to the state’s energy mix. By Tim James.
In this week’s landmark agreement between the Morrison and Berejiklian governments a vital and overdue step forward is the commitment by NSW to boost gas supply. For too long, NSW has produced too little of its own gas and the cost to NSW consumers and businesses has been considerable.
NSW imports 95 per cent of its gas needs. The meagre 5 per cent produced in NSW is via the Camden Gas Project, a perfectly safe, proven and valuable coal seam gas project established during the sector’s early days in NSW, in 2001. It’s even close to residential areas and co-exists with nearby farms.
When coal seam gas was a hot topic 10 years ago, activists conveniently overlooked Camden’s trouble-free operation, instead spreading propaganda about the perils of gas. Compounding the problem was the then state Labor Government’s mismanagement of licensing, which failed to provide transparency or community engagement.
The Camden Gas Project will cease supply in 2023, after 21 years of service. So unless new supply comes on soon, NSW will wholly rely on gas from other states. This is an unsustainable position for the biggest state in the country, which is also home to many of the industries that rely on gas, as do more than 1 million residential gas customers. And this is in a state that the Australian Energy Market Operator found in a 2012 study could have more than 85,950 petajoules of undeveloped gas resources – enough to meet about 500 years of NSW demand at current levels. NSW currently uses 120 petajoules per year.
The federal Government has recognised this and the NSW Government is preparing to act. The state Government has committed to facilitate investment opportunities to inject an additional 70 petajoules of gas per year into the east coast market.
This is a big commitment, and vital to the future of gas in NSW. The reset presented by the late 2014 NSW Government Gas Plan must now be converted into action.
The best way to increase the gas supply in NSW is to approve Santos’s proposed project at Narrabri, which could supply about half the state’s needs. Santos says gas from Narrabri would be cheaper than gas imported from interstate or overseas. It would also make Australia more energy secure.
Matt Howell, the CEO of the Tomago Aluminum Smelter, the largest energy user in the country, has described the Santos deal as prudent, and declared that gas is needed to keep the state’s lights on.
The Greens hysteria and hatred of gas of course led new leader Adam Bandt to declare gas is a “climate deal with the devil” that will lead to “climate catastrophe”. Wrong and wrong – but never let the facts get in the way of a good line from Greens leader.
Last word to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison who rightly asserted "There is no credible plan to lower emissions and keep electricity prices down that does not involve the greater use of gas as an important transition fuel”. Spot on, PM.