Victoria’s brown coal sector is in a state of crisis.
The Latrobe Valley Express newspaper revealed that the river diversion at the Yallourn coal mine has once again failed, spilling millions of litres of fresh river water into the open pit.
“River water is cascading into Yallourn open cut once again,” writes The Latrobe Valley Express, “pushing a coal supply conveyor to the brink of inoperability.”
“Hundreds of millions of litres of water have been flooding into Yallourn’s East Field mine every day since late last week, after ongoing localised rainfall pushed the mine’s water management plan to its limits.”
“As of Friday, the East Field mine contained a gigalitre of water, and was taking on 300 megalitres every day, an intake rate which was expected to increase over the weekend.”
Coal is an unsustainable energy source.
Wind farms can end Victoria’s reliance polluting and unsustainable fossil fuels, yet anti-wind farm laws introduced by Ted Baillieu and endorsed by Premier Napthine stand in the way.
Since 2011, Friends of the Earth’s Yes 2 Renewables has been campaigning to highlight the Victorian government’s laws that ban wind farms in large swaths of the state. They have cost Victoria jobs, investment, and crucial renewable energy capacity.
Yes 2 Renewables is fighting for wind energy on many fronts. From helping local groups fight back against anti-wind energy fear campaigning to holding politicians to account for policies that hold Victoria back. But there’s so much more to be done.
We need your support to keep gathering momentum and ensure Victoria moves towards a clean, renewable energy powered future. Only then can we switch off coal-fired power plants.
How you can help…
- Volunteer with Yes 2 Renewables to raise awareness about barriers to renewable energy
- Make a donation and help us keep up this important work.
- Book a public presentation on renewables in Victoria – Email leigh.ewbank [at] foe.org.au
yes2renewables.org 
The picture highlights the double standard of the current state government but I fear even a flooded coal mine isn’t going to be enough to make them reassess their opposition to renewables, wind energy in particular, is shortsighted and detrimental to the state.
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blair wind turbines are allowed in Victoria as long as they are 2km from the nearest home, but can be closer by agreement. You should stick with the facts.
But what you conveniently and dishonestly ignore is the fact that a single individual can jettison the project with their veto. Something that same individual cannot to with any coal mine development or CSG project.
As you seem to practice and enjoy double standards I expect you see nothing wrong with the current selective law. Fortunately, most people have enough sense to recognise hypocrisy when they see it – even if you cannot – and the law will eventually be overturned. Bad laws always are.
One other point, there are a number of places along the Victorian coastline where turbines cannot be constructed, yet the same areas are open to CSG developments and coalmining and they can occur right up to 100 m from the boundary of another person’s property.
Your ignorance on the anti-wind legislation is astounding.