AGL setback on LNG plant
AGL Energy has suffered a setback over its plans to develop Australia’s first LNG import plant in Victoria.
AGL Energy has suffered a setback over its plans to develop Australia’s first LNG import plant in Victoria after the local council rejected the project, saying it posed an unacceptable environmental risk and was out of step with the transition to renewable energy.
AGL’s environmental effects statement for the proposed Crib Point facility on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula “falls short of demonstrating that potentially significant environmental impacts of the project can be acceptably managed,” the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The EES also fails to make a strong case for the need to import gas over the medium to longer term, as Australia transitions towards renewable energy.”
AGL had originally targeted imports from its planned $250m LNG import terminal in the first half of 2020 as part of plans to help ease a domestic supply crunch in the state and meet a gas shortfall in its own portfolio.
However, opposition from local groups and a decision by the Victorian government to conduct a full environmental assessment on the facility slowed momentum, with first gas now likely in 2023 at the earliest.
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, which has committed to zero emissions, voted to oppose the project on Monday night and will hold a meeting with the community on Wednesday to discuss the plan.
“It is a weak analysis and gives us no confidence that the environmental impacts of this project can be acceptably managed,” Mornington Peninsula Mayor Sam Hearn said.
AGL in February conceded it had underestimated the challenge of developing Australia’s first gas import plant but chief executive Brett Redman said in March the facility was still needed to help ease a looming supply shortfall.