NSW State of the Environment 2012

SoE 2012 > People and the Environment > 1.5 Energy consumption

People and the Environment chapter 1

1.5 Energy consumption

Fossil fuels currently meet 94% of New South Wales final energy use, down from 97% in 2008. Around one-quarter of this demand is met by electricity, with supplies from renewable sources doubling between 2007–08 and 2009–10.

NSW meets most of its demand for energy from non-renewable sources, mainly coal, along with petroleum products and gas. The production and use of energy have significant environmental impacts, including being the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW.

Diversification of NSW electricity supplies is growing strongly with an increase in gas-based electricity generation capacity and supply, reducing the need for coal-derived electricity. Electricity supplied from renewable sources (other than Snowy Hydro) had been around 6% from 2001 to 2008, but then doubled to 2010.

Residential electricity consumption per person (and per household) peaked in 2005–06 and has recently been just below the levels of 2000–01. Demand for electricity appears to have stabilised for now and remains at about the same level as five years ago.

NSW indicators

Notes: Terms and symbols used above are defined in About SoE 2012 at the front of the report.

Introduction

Energy is essential to the functioning of an advanced industrial society. NSW uses approximately one-quarter of Australia's total energy, with large reserves of black coal and a substantial mining industry. As a result, the state enjoys a reliable and secure energy infrastructure, important factors underpinning the stability and growth of the economy.

In the absence of effective planning and environmental management controls, a range of environmental impacts can be associated with coal mining and gas extraction, including surface water and groundwater pollution, erosion, dust and noise pollution, and disruption to plants and wildlife.

Energy production and conversion, such as coal and gas to electricity in power stations, are the main emission sources of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) as well as local and regional air pollutants (oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur and particle emissions) (see People and the Environment 1.2 and Atmosphere 2.1). Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, which is projected to cause more extreme weather with higher temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, more storms and rising sea levels in NSW (CSIRO & BoM 2007). The process of electricity generation (or energy conversion to various end uses) is also highly inefficient because of the energy that is lost.

Status and trends

Final energy consumption

Figure 1.20 shows the trend in final energy consumed by major sectors of the economy in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. In 2010–11, the industrial sector used 41.8% of the total final energy of 1171 petajoules (PJ). This includes all fuel used for transport in the industrial, residential and commercial sectors. The share of the transport sector was similar at 39.1%, while the residential and commercial sectors used 11.5% and 7.6%, respectively (BREE 2012).

'Final energy' is the energy supplied to the end user (Figure 1.20). Final energy consumption includes secondary energy, such as electricity, and therefore excludes the coal used to generate electricity. Not included in these figures are heat and conversion losses in power plant facilities and refineries, as well as transmission and distribution losses. In 2010–11, waste heat from power plants (and other losses) amounted to about 437.4 PJ, equivalent (and additional) to 37.4% of the state's total final energy use (see also People and the Environment 1.2).

Figure 1.20: Final energy consumption by sector in NSW and the ACT, 1973–74 to 2010–11

Source: Derived from BREE 2012

Notes: The data source combines data for NSW and the ACT in a way that cannot be disaggregated.
'Industrial' includes agriculture, mining and manufacturing.
'Commercial' includes general commercial, construction, and water, sewerage and drainage industries.

For nearly 40 years, the consumption of energy in the transport sector has grown markedly at an approximate rate of 6 PJ per year (Figure 1.20). Energy consumption in residential and commercial sectors has also steadily increased but at a slower rate. Overall, the final energy consumption of the industrial sector has been increasing since the mid-1980s, although prior to that there was a declining trend.

Figure 1.21 shows final energy consumption by fuel and sector for 2010–11. Petroleum comprises the largest component of final energy used in NSW and the ACT. The transport sector was the major user of petroleum in NSW in 2010–11, with some used in the other sectors. Electricity use was highest in the industrial sector. The overall proportions of these fuels are:

• petroleum 45.4%
• electricity generation (fossil fuels) 19.9%
• coal (excluding electricity generation) 17.0%
• natural gas 11.0%
• renewables (hydroelectricity, wood, wood waste, bagasse and biofuels) 6.7% (compare note under Figure 1.23).

Figure 1.21: Final energy consumption in NSW and the ACT by fuel and sector, 2010–11

Source: Derived from BREE 2012

Notes: The data source combines data for NSW and the ACT in a way that cannot be disaggregated.
'Coal' excludes inputs to generation of electricity (from fossil fuels)
'Renewables' includes bagasse, solar, wood, wood waste and hydroelectricity.
Certain consolidation and modifications of the BREE data were provided by the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services to avoid double-counting and allocate energy use into appropriate sectors.
Final energy consumption includes electricity, and so consumption by the electricity generation sector is not shown.
Data includes estimates for bagasse, solar, hydroelectricity and wood, but excludes wind, solar PV, solar water heating, solar thermal and other biomass sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, landfill gas, black liquor (pulp mill by-product), sewage gas, food waste and municipal solid waste.

Gas use

Across all sectors (Figure 1.21) the total per capita use of gas (excluding LPG) in NSW increased from 17,793 megajoules (MJ) in 2007–08 to 22,285 MJ in 2010–11 (DTIRIS data 2012). The bulk of gas used in NSW is for manufacturing and electricity generation. Residential use (mainly for heating, hot water and cooking) was around 21,546 MJ per household in 2010–11.

Gas is Australia's fastest growing energy source, with investment in gas-fired electricity generation a key driver. About 11% of the NSW installed electricity generation capacity of 2238 megawatts (MW) is powered by natural gas or coal seam gas (CSG). Gas consumption for power generation and the capacity of installed gas-fired generation are both expected to continue to grow in NSW (AEMO 2011a).

Electricity generation

NSW imports electricity from interstate during times of peak demand via the National Electricity Market (and exports it at other times). This shares the generation load, reduces the need for local generation, and allows customers to benefit from lower wholesale prices. NSW is a net importer and on average imports electricity to meet around 10% of its annual demand.

In 2011, NSW generated 74,544 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, the majority from coal (85.8%, a slight increase from 82.6% in 2010, but down from 93.4% in 2007–08). Another 6.4% of the electricity generated comes from gas. The remaining 7.8% is from renewable energy sources (up from 7.2% in 2010 and 5.3% in 2007–08) – the main sources are hydroelectricity (5%) and other renewables such as wind (0.9%), landfill gas (0.5%), solar photovoltaic (0.9%), bagasse (0.3%) and other biomass (0.3%) (DTIRIS data 2012). Despite a 45.6% decrease in output from Snowy Hydro (from 5450 GWh in 2010 to 2964 GWh in 2011), there have been significant increases from all other non-Snowy renewable generation. (Note that generation data for recent years has been presented on a calendar year basis for compatibility with the renewable energy targets and reporting.)

Figure 1.22 shows actual and forecast trends in electricity generation under three growth scenarios (TransGrid 2011; AEMO 2012). Annual energy generated peaked in 2007–08 and showed a reduction of 1.8% over the last three years. Changes to the NSW economic climate, such as the global financial crisis that triggered a severe economic downturn in late 2008, resulted in lower demand for electricity between 2008–09 and 2011–12 compared with the forecasts presented in SoE 2009 (DECCW 2009a). Additional factors that contributed to lower demand included forecasts of significantly higher electricity prices, the phase-out of energy-intensive water heaters and incandescent light bulbs, and implementation of the NSW Energy Savings Scheme.

Figure 1.22: Actual growth and forecast trends in electricity generation in NSW under various growth scenarios

Source: TransGrid 2011; AEMO 2012

Notes: This data is based on energy sent from major power plants and smaller generators located in the distribution network.
AEMO 2012 data is used from 2005–06 onwards.

Despite this recent drop, NSW electricity demand is projected to grow at 1.2% per annum under the medium growth scenario and 1.6% and 0.3% under the high and low scenarios, respectively, over the 10-year outlook period from 2012–13 to 2021–22.

Trends in maximum demand are largely the same as annual energy demand. Peak summer or peak winter demands are forecast to rise by 1.2% per annum over the next decade. Both energy and maximum demand forecasts are lower than previous forecasts due to the closure of the aluminium smelter at Kurri Kurri, increasing penetration of rooftop photovoltaics, lower manufacturing output in response to the higher Australian dollar, consumer response to rising electricity costs and energy efficiency measures.

Renewable energy consumption and growth

In 2009–10, renewable energy sources provided for 12% of the state's total electricity consumption (4.7% from Snowy Hydro). Renewable sources have the following shares of the remaining 7.3%: solar photovoltaic systems (29%); wind (19%); biomass (19%); solar water heaters which displace electricity use from electric hot water systems (15%); landfill gas (12%); and other hydropower (6%). The interstate movement of electricity under the National Electricity Market, and other factors, means that NSW generation figures (as reported above) do not match consumption figures (for both renewable and non-renewable sources).

Solar, wind and biomass resources are increasingly being developed, largely due to energy sector reforms introduced by the NSW and Australian Governments. For example, supply from wind has jumped 10-fold since SoE 2009 (DECCW 2009a) and solar photovoltaic supply has increased six-fold.

In 2011, NSW generated over 800 GWh of electricity from bioenergy sources, such as bagasse and landfill gas. Wind plants in NSW (280 MW installed capacity) generated 652 GWh of energy (DTIRIS data). The generation of power from solar photovoltaic systems in NSW more than doubled between 2010 and 2011 to 684 GWh (about 2.5 PJ) in 2011.

Figure 1.23 shows the trend in estimated consumption of electricity from renewable sources since 2001. Electricity supplied from renewable sources other than Snowy Hydro (such as wind, biomass and landfill gas) has increased significantly over the decade to 2009–10. These increases were offset by reduced generation from the Snowy Hydro Scheme until 2008–09 because of a lack of water due to the drought.

Figure 1.23: NSW consumption of electricity from renewable sources, 2000–01 to 2009–10

Source: DTIRIS data 2011

Notes: Although about 28% of current NSW electricity generation capacity is powered by renewables, the availability of supply from renewable sources is lower and varies from year to year.
Estimating renewable energy consumption is complicated by the interstate trading of electricity (especially for Snowy Hydro production which has always been available for use by both NSW and Victoria). Also supply from the smaller renewable generation facilities is often not available easily and the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) registry data is used to estimate the consumption by various fuel types. REC registry data for NSW does not equate to the actual renewable generation in NSW due to various factors, including the baselines and multiplier factors.

Pressures

Growth in energy demand

Three key pressures are facing the energy sector in NSW. These are the ongoing, increasing demand for fuel for transport and the long-term growth in demand for both electricity and gas (which is in part driven by strong growth in gas-powered electricity generation). As noted previously, the electricity generation industry is the largest user of energy, but as electricity is used as a form of secondary energy, the fossil fuel inputs to the generation of electricity fall outside of the discussion of end-user energy consumption.

The strongest growth in energy consumption in NSW has been in the commercial sector (136% growth over 37 years), while the residential sector (92%) has grown at about the same rate as transport (91%) (Figure 1.20). Overall, final energy consumption by industry was 18%, with stronger recent growth masked by earlier negative growth.

Petroleum

As well as being the economic sector with the greatest end-user consumption of petroleum fossil fuels (Figure 1.21), transport has a slow rate of uptake of alternative fuel sources. Heavy reliance on the combustion of fossil fuels has environmental and health impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions (People and the Environment 1.2) and air pollution (Atmosphere 2.1). NSW has the largest number of vehicles of any Australian state (ABS 2009) and is the largest market for petroleum in Australia. Electric vehicles show considerable promise for improved environmental performance for road vehicles, especially if supplied from renewable energy sources.

Gas

Gas demand in NSW is forecast to grow at an average rate of 7.1% per annum over the next 20 years (AEMO 2011a) and is expected to triple from 160 PJ per annum to 505 PJ per annum (excluding LNG exports).

Electricity

In 2009–10, NSW and the ACT used 69,778 gigawatt-hours of electricity. The industrial sector accounted for 37.7% of the state's overall consumption, followed by the residential (33.4%), commercial (27.2%) and transport (1.9%) sectors (ABARES 2011a). In 2009–10, the major sources of fuel for this electricity were non-renewable, such as coal and gas (88%), while renewable energy sources provided 12% of the state's total electricity consumption (see Figure 1.23).

Since 1994–95, electricity consumption per household has increased significantly, but has decreased since a peak in 2005–06 (Figure 1.24). Household sizes in NSW are very gradually decreasing so the household and per capita trends are almost identical.

As electricity is the most common energy source used by NSW households to power home heating and cooling systems, year-to-year climatic variations, such as the exceptionally hot and dry summers of 2006 and 2007, significantly influence the demand for space conditioning energy. A recent estimate found that 55% of Australian households use reverse-cycle air-conditioning or other electric heating in their homes (ABS 2011e, Table 8) with ownership of air-conditioners more than doubling since the mid-1990s (DEWHA 2008b).

Computer-related equipment and large flat-screen TVs have also increased energy use recently. These household-level increases have been more than compensated for by energy efficiency improvements and generation from embedded renewables, such as solar PV.

Figure 1.24: Residential electricity consumption in NSW and the ACT, 1994–95 to 2010–11

Source: ABS 2011a; Energy Supply Association of Australia data 2011

Notes: Information from the Energy Supply Association of Australia combines data for NSW and the ACT in a way that cannot be disaggregated.

Responses

Established responses

NSW 2021: A plan to make NSW number one (NSW Government 2011), the Government's 10-year plan for NSW, identifies the increased use of renewable energy as a priority in its Goal 22 – 'Increase renewable energy: 20% renewable energy by 2020'. The target is designed to support the national renewable energy target, expanding renewable energy in NSW at least cost.

NSW 2021 also identifies the need to use energy more efficiently under Goal 5 – 'Contain electricity costs through efficient energy use'. This includes a target to improve energy efficiency by achieving 16,000 GWh of annual savings by 2020.

Renewable energy developments

The NSW Government has policy initiatives in place to promote favourable conditions for the development and use of alternative and renewable energy technologies as outlined below.

• Supporting the national renewable energy target of 20% by 2020: The NSW Government has developed a draft Renewable Energy Action Plan to guide NSW's renewable energy development and outline how the state can support achievement of the 2020 target at least cost. The plan will be informed by the workings of the NSW Solar and Renewable Energy Summit, along with community consultation.
• The NSW Renewable Energy Development Program and the Australian Clean Energy Finance Corporation are both funding and promoting investments in low carbon dioxide-emitting technologies, such as biogas, geothermal and large-scale solar thermal generation. As well as helping to demonstrate these new energy technologies and support their early commercialisation, they will help to meet the 2020 renewable energy target.
• Six Renewable Energy Precincts have been established in areas of the state that show the greatest potential to generate electricity from wind. A supporting program is facilitating well-sited renewable energy projects and building community understanding, involvement and uptake of renewable energy. New planning guidelines for wind farms were exhibited in early 2012 (DP&I 2011a; DP&I 2011b). These were prepared in consultation with the community and energy industry to ensure effective dialogue with local communities and deliver improved consistency, transparency and rigour in the planning assessment process. The guidelines provide a regulatory framework to guide investment in wind farms across NSW, while minimising and avoiding any potential impacts on local communities.
• The installed capacity of small-scale solar photovoltaic generation has grown rapidly over the past few years and demand remains high: in the six months following the closure of the Solar Bonus Scheme for new applicants in April 2011, a further 20,315 customers applied to connect solar photovoltaic systems to the electricity grid. In addition to this, over 54,000 NSW businesses and households have installed photovoltaic systems in the absence of any government subsidies. The NSW Government is exploring ways to provide a sustainable and predictable future for the solar industry with IPART completing a review of the feed-in tariffs for small-scale solar energy generation in March 2012 (IPART 2012b).
• The NSW Government continued in its role as Program Manager of the National GreenPower Accreditation Program in 2011–12. The GreenPower Program allows electricity customers to purchase renewable energy for their home or business through their energy retailer. The latest audited figures from the 2010 calendar year show that support for the program is steady with approximately 2200 GWh of accredited renewable energy sold nationwide and sales in NSW accounting for around a quarter of this (519 GWh) (DTIRIS data 2012).

Alternative transport fuels and new vehicle technology

The NSW Government is supporting the development of a market for cleaner new motor vehicles and cleaner and alternative fuels. This will improve air quality and reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels, such as ethanol and modified vegetable oil (biodiesel), create jobs in regional NSW, help farmers and reduce reliance on foreign fuel imports.

NSW established Australia's first mandated biofuel component in 2007. Since then, the petrol sold in NSW has been required to contain a steadily increasing content of ethanol, rising to 6% by volume on 1 October 2011. This does not mean that all fuel sold will contain ethanol, but customers are provided with a choice at the pump to fill up with E10 petrol, which contains a blend of up to 10% ethanol. A 2% biodiesel mandate was also introduced in 2009 and is to be increased to 5% when sufficient local supply of biodiesel is available.

Electric vehicles present significant opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts of road vehicle use. They do not cause air pollution when driven and emit less carbon dioxide than internal combustion engine vehicles even when charged through the electricity grid.

The NSW Government is also trialling a new diesel–electric hybrid bus. The fuel-efficient hybrid bus uses state-of-the-art technology and is being tested by State Transit on various routes in Sydney. The results of the trial will contribute to the development of a clean energy future for NSW.

As well as technological advance, the uptake of electric vehicles may be assisted by developments in infrastructure, policy and legislation in NSW as well as the Australian Energy Market Commission review into energy market arrangements for electric and natural gas vehicles that is currently under way.

Using energy wisely

BASIX: The Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) was introduced by the NSW Government in 2004 to ensure that new homes, and residential alterations and additions costing more than $50,000, are designed and built to high energy and water efficiency standards. Each new home in NSW must meet a greenhouse gas emission reduction target compared with the average home built before the scheme's introduction. For Sydney and coastal NSW, this target is 40%. Between July 2004 and December 2011, the commitment to energy savings for BASIX-compliant dwellings translated to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 1.3 million tonnes carbon dioxide-equivalent (see also People and the Environment 1.2).

National initiatives

The Australian Government has been encouraging the development of renewable and sustainable technologies through programs such as the Renewable Energy Target and Generator Efficiency Standards Measure.

The National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) is a NSW program that has been extended nationally that rates a building on the basis of its measured environmental impacts (see also People and the Environment 1.4). NABERS Energy ratings are available for commercial office buildings, hotels, shopping centres and homes. A NABERS Energy rating for data centres and NSW schools is also under development.

By June 2011, 68% of NSW office space had been rated with NABERS Energy for offices. A further 46 NABERS Energy for hotels ratings were conducted along with 31 NABERS Energy for shopping centres ratings. Close to 600 businesses are engaging with NABERS to rate their premises. Office buildings using NABERS as a management tool have improved their greenhouse performance by an average 11.5%, with combined carbon dioxide-equivalent savings of 257,000 tonnes per year.

From November 2011, most office buildings over 2000 square metres in size have been required to disclose their NABERS Energy rating at the point of sale or lease under the Commercial Building Disclosure program. In addition to this, NABERS ratings are crucial to a number of industry and government programs, such as the CitySwitch Green Office program, the NSW Energy Savings Scheme, Melbourne's 1200 Buildings program, the National Green Leasing Policy and Green Star ratings.

Smart meters/grids: Effective metering of end-user consumption, when coupled with appropriate price signals or other incentive measures, can encourage customers to more actively manage their electricity use. The Council of Australian Governments is committed to the cost-effective rollout of smart meters and the National Electricity Market is developing a supporting framework.

The NSW Government participates in the interjurisdictional Smart Meter Working Group, which reports to COAG's Standing Council on Energy and Resources (SCER). The working group is reviewing the electricity regulatory framework to facilitate potential future implementation of smart meters. The key issues for the group are ensuring the greatest benefit for consumers by increasing their opportunities to participate in energy saving and demand management activities, while maintaining consumer protection.

The Australian Government has contracted Ausgrid to undertake the Smart Grid, Smart City initiative. This $100-million project involves the installation of Australia's first commercial-scale smart grid with customers across northern Sydney, Newcastle and Scone. The aim is to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of a number of smart technologies, such as electric vehicles, energy storage and smart metering services.

Developing responses

Diversifying energy supply

With the state's energy supply dominated by coal (locally produced, but highly carbon-intensive) and petroleum and gas (mostly imported and also carbon-intensive), there are sound strategic economic and environmental reasons to diversify the mix of energy supplied. Individual industries and companies can be expected to review their own energy supply choices, but at a broader scale two key areas of ongoing action should be the diversification of energy sources for electricity generation and the development of alternative transport fuels and new vehicle technologies.

According to updated forecasting (AEMO 2012), NSW will maintain or install enough energy generation capacity to meet a growing demand for power until well into the late 2020s, even if faced with 1-in-10 extreme weather conditions. The updated forecasting also concluded that new generation capacity will not be required for at least the next 10 years even under a high economic growth scenario. This is several years later than the forecast need for an additional 190 MW capacity by 2018–19 made in Electricity Statement of Opportunities 2011 (AEMO 2011b), mainly due to lower demand forecasts.

Following 45 years of operation, Delta Electricity announced in July 2012 the closure of its Munmorah power station, the oldest coal-fired plant with 600 MW capacity. The station has been maintained on standby but has not been in production since August 2010 due to the ageing infrastructure and high maintenance costs. Munmorah has development consent for rehabilitation as either a coal- or gas-fired generator with 700 MW capacity, but this would require substantial new capital investment by a future owner.

New generation proposals with a total capacity of 12,600 MW have development approval (9900 MW conventional, 2300 MW wind, 400 MW solar) and a further 7600 MW are in the planning system (1200 MW conventional, 6200 MW wind, 200 MW other renewables). However not all of these may progress to completion, depending on future economic conditions.

The 20% renewable energy target, carbon price and other low emission-related policies are expected to assist the renewable generation proposals progressing to completion. The large amount of new renewable generation proposed could meet the general energy demand requirements, with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) determining that the design of the National Electricity Market will be able to integrate large amounts of wind generation (AEMO 2011c). However, AEMO has also concluded that these new renewable generation proposals are unable to meet peak demand requirements and some new fossil-fuel-powered generation capacity is likely to be necessary.

Reducing dependence on coal and moving to lower emission energy sources

The majority of the proposed new electricity generation facilities in NSW do not involve the use of coal as an energy source. This will reduce the state's dependence on coal and aid the move to lower emission energy sources.

Gas is increasingly used for electricity generation, mainly to fuel intermediate and peaking generators. If, as forecast, gas-fired generation capacity grows at 7.1% per annum (AEMO 2011a), the fuel's share of generation in NSW would increase from around 11% to 37% by 2030–31 and coal's share would fall from 61% to 40%.

Given strong local and international demand for gas, ensuring security of a cost-effective supply is a key aim of the NSW Government. In September 2010, a national wholesale gas market platform was established in the eastern states (operated by AEMO). The NSW Government is working cooperatively through COAG's Standing Council on Energy and Resources to support further development of a national gas market. A more harmonised interjurisdictional framework for the regulation of the coal seam gas (CSG) industry is also being investigated.

To ensure CSG development projects are able to gain community support, the NSW Government is implementing its Strategic Regional Land Use Policy which will help reduce conflicts between the mineral and petroleum resource industries, agricultural production and environment protection. The NSW Aquifer Interference Policy (DPI 2012) has been developed as a component of the Strategic Regional Land Use Policy. Furthermore, the Government intends to develop a Gas Industry Development Plan to ensure the necessary NSW-based policy frameworks are in place to support the appropriate development of all aspects of the gas industry. A Legislative Council inquiry into the environmental, health, economic and social impacts of CSG activities was completed recently.

Future opportunities

As a means of maintaining supply of electricity while reducing emissions, research and development in NSW is currently examining suitable cost-effective technologies that can be added to conventional energy systems. These include:

• Carbon capture and storage: The possibility of retrofitting post-combustion capture and storage of carbon dioxide to existing power stations is being explored, although this is not yet commercially available for power stations emitting in the order of 15 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per annum or more.
• Combustion efficiency improvement technology: Developments in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle technology and hybrid combined cycle power stations (where the exhaust heat from a gas turbine assists combustion in a conventional coal furnace) are being monitored by NSW Trade & Investment, as part of its Coal Innovation Fund program.
• Drainage of mines to reduce emissions: With the sponsorship of the Coal Innovation Fund, the CSIRO is researching options to enhance methane drainage of 'gassy' mines or remove methane from ventilation air with the aim of potentially using the drained gas for power generation.