New and innovative uses for coal will be one of the key talking points of the South West Development Commission’s upcoming future energies conference in Collie.
The Powering the Future of WA conference will examine the future of energy in the state with presentations from experts from the community, industry and government sectors.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s coordinator of carbon strategy Dominique Van Gent will be one of the presenters and he said he was excited to be taking part in the conference.
“I think [the conference] is a really good thing to have in Collie, with so many people sharing excellent ideas,” he said.
“I’m really glad that it is open to the wider community and not just closed off to experts like many other conferences.”
Mr Van Gent said his presentation would look at ways to reduce industrially generated carbon dioxide in the South West, which would be of special interest to Collie and its coal-fired power stations.
He said he would be focussing on the South West Hub project, which utilises carbon capture and storage to reduce the emissions created by industry.
“Carbon capture and storage is all about finding places to store carbon dioxide created by industry,” he said.
“What happens in the process is the carbon dioxide is taken out of the flues, concentrated down into pure carbon and then pumped about two or three kilometres in the ground.
“We drew a circle around Collie to see where we could drill these wells and we found some promising spots in the Harvey area.”
Another speaker at the event will be Community energy expert Heather Smith who will discuss the growing trend which looks at different ways people can own, manage and help their communities use and generate energy.
Ms Smith said community energy could play a key role in shaping the energy systems of the future, demanding that they are equitable, efficient and resilient.
Augusta Margaret River Clean Community Energy chair Lyn Serventy, along with deputy chair Ian Williams, will be at the conference to talk about the group’s plans to establish a grid-connected clean energy facility at Scott River using a possible combination of solar, wind, and biogas.
The conference will take place at Harris River Estate on Friday, June 8 following a welcome function at the Collie Motorplex the evening before and will be opened by Energy minister Ben Wyatt.
The conference will feature presentations on a range of energy topics including Synergy chief executive officer Jason Waters and WA Independent Power Association chairman Richard Harris.
To register for the conference, visit www.criticalhorizons.com.au.
