The Federal Government has called for expressions of interest for Contract to Close from elegible generators under the Clean Energy Future package.

The Contract for Closure Program aims to support the closure of around 2,000 megawatts of highly emissions-intensive electricity capacity by 2020. Under the scheme, eligible generators can seek payment from the Government as part of a competitive tender process to retire their operations by an agreed date and will remain as a voluntary process.

 

The program is designed to facilitate investment in new lower-emissions electricity generation capacity by providing certainty to future investors about the timing of closure of existing generators and, in turn, help them to plan ahead with confidence.

 

The Government intends to enter into any Contracts for Closure by 30 June 2012.  These contracts will set out the agreed date by which capacity will be closed. The Government's preferred closure timeframe is from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2020.

 

Eligible generators are those with emissions intensity greater than 1.2 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per megawatt hour of electricity on an ‘as generated’ basis. 

 

The Contract for Closure Program is being led by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and the invitation for expressions of interest and associated documents can be found at www.ret.gov.au