Environment Victoria

Last week Environment Victoria released a report showing that little progress has been made to reduce Victoria's reliance on polluting coal-fired electricity over the past decade, and that our energy mix remains dangerously unbalanced.

The report, Victoria's Energy Mix 2000-2009, commissioned by Environment Victoria, found that in 2009 coal-fired generation provided 91.5% of the state's electricity, only slightly lower than the 93.3% coal provided in 2000. However, the report also found that "in absolute terms, Victoria's reliance on coal has increased over the past decade", with both electricity generation and greenhouse gas emissions increasing by nearly 10% since 2000.

At the same time, energy from clean renewable sources remains at just 5 percent (the same proportion as what it was in 2000), despite the government's Victorian Renewable Energy Target.

The state's experience over the past decade shows that the only way we will be able to make real progress in reducing Victoria's greenhouse pollution and dependence on brown coal is if we start replacing the large coal-fired power stations with clean energy - beginning with the dirtiest power station in Australia, Hazelwood power station.

To read the report, click here.