The figures were revealed as a Newspoll commissioned by Greenpeace found that 84% of Australian adults believe profits from an emissions trading scheme should be invested in renewable energy rather than paid back to coal-fired power generators. Only one in 10 respondents thought coal-fired power generators should be compensated instead of putting the money into renewable energy.

“Where is the investment in renewable energy Australians want to see?” said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Trish Harrup. “The Federal Government’s carbon pollution reduction scheme should be designed to do just that, not pay wealthy and polluting power companies to continue to pump carbon into the atmosphere.”

Private coal-fired power generators and even the NSW state government, which owns most of NSW’s eight coal-fired power stations, have been putting pressure on Prime Minister Rudd to make sure costs they incur under the CPRS are offset through cash compensation from the scheme’s profits. Based on an estimate of a $20 per tonne carbon price and compensation equal to 30 per cent of the value of their permits generators, stand to gain tens or hundreds of millions:

In Victoria International Power, which owns the highly polluting brown coal-fired power stations Hazelwood and Loy Yang B in the La Trobe, could be paid $111 million based on pollution of 11.5 and 7 million tonnes (mt) of CO2 per annum respectively. TRUenergy lobbied Professor Garnaut for free permits to pollute. It owns Yallourn in the La Trobe, the third dirtiest power station in Australia, emitting 16.1mt of CO2 pa, yet stands to gain $97 million. Queensland’s biggest coal-fired power station Gladstone, owned by wealthy mining giants Rio Tinto and NRG, stands to gain $70.8 million. It emits 11.8 mt of CO2 per year. Whilst in NSW, the biggest coal-fired power generator is the state-owned Macquarie Generation, which owns Bayswater and Liddell power stations. They jointly emit 34.7mt CO2 per year and Macquarie could be paid $208 million in compensation.

“Many sectors of the community - unions, environment groups and investor groups - are, like Greenpeace, calling for cash compensation to coal-fired power generators to be cut from the CPRS,” said Ms Harrup. “The AMWU, ACTU and even the CFMEU have said the federal government should not give the owners of coal-fired power stations a blank cheque. Instead profits from the CPRS should be invested in renewable energy to create green jobs and used to ensure a just transition for coal communities.”