Lae power station
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Lae power station is a cancelled power station in Lae Port, Morobe, Papua New Guinea.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Lae power station | Lae Port, Morobe, Papua New Guinea | -6.730778, 146.970678 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- ': -6.730778, 146.970678
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|
| cancelled | coal: unknown, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids) | 52 | unknown |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Owner | Parent |
|---|---|
| Mayur Resources Ltd [100%] | Mayur Resources Ltd [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): domestic
Background
Since 2014, Australian-based Mayur Resources has proposed the establishment of an "Enviro Energy Park" in the industrial hub of Lae, Morobe province, Papua New Guinea (PNG).[1] In October 2018, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the project was signed between the company, the Lae City Authority, and the Morobe Provincial Government. The MOA detailed plans for a new 60 megawatt power station with the ability to burn coal as well as use biomass, solar energy, and by-product heat. Coal may come from PNG Gulf Province's Depot Creek. If the projects are built, they would mark the first coal-fired power plant and coal mine in the country.[2]
In 2018, Mayur Resources said it had completed a feasibility study, selected a site, secured environmental approval, and received bids for the construction of the facility. However, a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) still needed to be signed by national electricity provider PNG Power before energy could be sold to the country's grid.[2]
In 2019, the plant was supported by Energy Minister Sam Basil and Gulf Governor Chris Haiveta, but still had to be approved by PNG Power Limited, which required competitive bidding of planned generation, transmission, and distribution investments.[3]
In November 2019, the Mayur Resources website noted that construction bids had been received and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was submitted to PNG Power and under review. For the site location, a lease had been taken out with PNG Ports at Lae Tidal Basin. The company's feasibility study was for 52.5 MW (net), and future scalability to a potential 200 MW was referenced.[4]
According to its October 2020 Annual Report, in 2019, the company received revised bids for the power station which included boiler design enabling use of up to 50% biomass fuel.[5]
In December 2021, the Mayur Resources website did not reflect any substantive coal updates. The page was retitled from "Enviro Energy Park" to "Mayur is constructing a renewable energy portfolio of solar, geothermal, carbon mitigation, and battery storage in Papua New Guinea."[6]
Given the lack of known company activity in the last two years, the project was considered shelved. However, advocacy to cancel the coal project is ongoing, as noted below.
In July 2022, Mayur Resources decided to formally “pause” the plant and focus instead on renewables to power its projects. The Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights, a PNG NGO, welcomed the company’s announcement but called on it to abandon the power plant project and rule out the use of coal in its proposed cement and limestone plant.[7][8]
August 2022 reporting stated that when Mayur Resources scrapped the power station, they said that they would be replacing the project with a carbon offset project through PNG's Nature-Based REDD+ Forestry Carbon Credit program. Soon after, the country announced that the program was canceled, and Mayur Resources threatened to sue the PNG government.[9]
In October 2022, Mayur Resources' annual report stated that assets related to a "coal fired electricity power plant to operate in Lae, Morobe Province" were "not ready for use".[10]
In December 2022, Mayur Resources Limited and Santos Ventures Pty Ltd extended an exclusivity agreement to "jointly develop a portfolio of nature-based carbon offset projects in Papua New Guinea".[11] Neither Lae nor coal was mentioned in Mayur Resources' December 2022 Quarterly Report.[12]
In Mayur Resources' April 2023 Quarterly Report, there was no mention of the Lae coal-fired power plant, nor any other mention of potential coal projects.[13] As of June 2023, the only power project listed on the company's website was a solar farm.[14] At the time, Mayur Resources had not formally or publicly cancelled the proposed coal plant.
The project was also not mentioned in the company's Q2 2023 Quarterly Report.[15]
Mayur Resources' 2023 Annual Report, released in October 2023, stated that the project had not progressed in several years and likely "would not be able to proceed in the form originally envisaged". No "formal work" was taking place at the site, but the company was pursuing biomass as an alternative energy source for a power plant in Lae.[16]
As of March 2024, Mayur Resources' website described that the company was "developing a renewable energy portfolio".[17] Lae power station was shelved for over two years and did not have any updates indicating that it would move forward using coal. Therefore, the project was presumed to be cancelled.
Social and environmental concerns
The project has been criticized by environmental groups over its environmental impacts and high costs. Mayur Resources dismissed the concerns and said it hoped to gain approval for the project in 2021.[18]
According to the Nogat Coal campaign, a collaboration including the Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights (CELCOR) and Jubilee Australia Research Centre, the Western Tidal Basin is the Labu people’s home, who occupy six villages in the area. The closest village to the site, Labu Butu, is around 500 m from the proposed power plant. Labu Butu has a population of approximately 3,000 people, made up of 325 family groups. The campaign's concerns regarding the proposed coal plant include the following:[19]
- There has been no proper consultation with the local communities
- Increased pollution and poor impact on public health
- Enforces the false claim that coal can be the solution
In September 2020, a detailed Nogat Coal report deconstructed the arguments for a 52 to 200 MW plant and coal mines in the Gulf Province and proposed alternatives.[20]
In October 2021 and November 2021, groups continued to press the Australian mine company, Mayur Resources, to reconsider its coal plans.[21][22]
In June 2022, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released a 15 page report highlighting the potential adverse impacts of the plant and the shortcomings of the related Environmental Impact Assessment. One statistic of note in the CREA report was that over 30 years, the adverse health effects of the plant would cost more than Papua New Guinea's entire GDP in 2020.[23]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Location of proposed Lae EEP at Lae Tidal Basin" (jpg), Mayur Resources, accessed June 24, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Australian company pushing to open Papua New Guinea's first coal-fired power plant," ABC Australia, October 18, 2018
- ↑ "Duma backs Mayur proposal and asks PNG Power to consider coal project," The National, April 2, 2019
- ↑ "Enviro Energy Park," Mayur Resources, accessed November 2019
- ↑ "Cementing a Brighter Future for Papua New Guinea: Annual Report 19/20," Mayur Resource, October 30, 2020
- ↑ "Mayur is constructing a renewable energy portfolio of solar, geothermal, carbon mitigation, and battery storage in Papua New Guinea," Mayur Resources, accessed December 2021
- ↑ "Pause on Coal Project Applauded," Loop PNG, July 20, 2022
- ↑ "Letter to Shareholders from the Managing Director," ASX Announcement, July 11, 2022
- ↑ "Australian miner threatens lawsuit against PNG for scrapping carbon scheme," Mongabay, August 15, 2022
- ↑ "Annual Report 2022," Mayur Resources, October 31, 2022
- ↑ "Mayur and Santos Extend the Exclusivity Period to Investigate the Development of Nature-Based Carbon Offset Projects in PNG," PNG Business News, December 13, 2022
- ↑ "Quarterly Report," Mayur Resources, January 30, 2023
- ↑ "Quarterly Report," Mayur Resources, April 27, 2023
- ↑ "About - Mayur Resources," Mayur Resources, Access: June 2023
- ↑ "Quarterly Activities and Cash Flow Report," Mayur Resources, July 31, 2023
- ↑ "Annual Report 2023," Mayur Resources, October 31, 2023
- ↑ Mayur Resources, Mayur Resources, accessed March 22, 2024
- ↑ "Despite criticism Aust coal-miner confident of PNG go-ahead," RNZ, September 28, 2020
- ↑ "The Coal Industry in Papua New Guinea," Nogat Coal: No coal in PNG, accessed June 24, 2021
- ↑ "The Coal Agenda: Mayur Resources and the push to start a coal industry in PNG," CELCOR and the Jubilee Australia Research Centre, September 2020
- ↑ "Miner urged to reconsider coal plans," Loop PNG, October 4, 2021
- ↑ "True zero emissions needed: Group," Loop PNG, November 5, 2021
- ↑ "Health & Economic Impacts of the Lae, Papua New Guinea Coal Power Plant," Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, June 2022
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
