SYDNEY—CLP Holdings Ltd. said on Tuesday it will build two gas-fired power stations in Australia's Queensland state worth a combined A$3.6 billion (US$3.8 billion), underscoring how companies are continuing to invest in new energy supply despite national plans to put a price on carbon emissions.
CLP's Australian unit TRUenergy will feed the proposed power plants at Ipswich, a city near the state capital Brisbane, and Gladstone, an industrial port further to the north, with natural gas produced from Queensland's southwest gas fields. With initial generation capacity of about 500 megawatts each, rising to 1.5 gigawatts, they could increase the state's overall generation capacity by 20%.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the stations will produce about half as much carbon dioxide as a coal-fired power station and that their construction from 2013 shows that "gas can compete in a carbon-priced economy".
Hong Kong-based CLP's choice of gas is in line with a broader trend in Australia away from coal, which generates 80% of the country's electricity, making it one of the world's biggest carbon polluters by head of population.
Following the successful passage of legislation this month, Australia will tax carbon emissions at A$23 per metric ton next year.
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