Government withdraws $100 million HRL funding

$100 million in Federal funding for the controversial HRL brown coal-fired power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley has been withdrawn because the company failed to meet funding conditions.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson announced the move this week, saying that the Government had given HRL until June 30 to meet the conditions.
“It has not done so and accordingly the funding agreement between HRL and the Australian Government will be terminated,” Ferguson said.
“We were hoping the coal gasification process would actually get up in the Valley.”
The Federal decision has also put $30 million in Victorian state government funding in doubt.
HRL planned to invest $1.2 billion to develop a 600 megawatt coal fired plant at Morwell, using gasification technology which it said would produce fewer emissions than other coal fired facilities.