Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday, Turnbull said: “We have a vested interest in showing that we can provide both lower emissions and reliable base load power with state of the art clean coal fired technology… coal does have a role in the future.

“You’d think if anyone had an interest in doing something smart with clean coal it would be us, but we don’t have one power station capable of doing it.”

That sentiment certainly rang true with NSWMC CEO Stephen Galilee

NSW’s high quality coal must also be considered in the mix when planning for the state’s energy needs in the future, he said.

 "Coal currently provides around 85% of NSW electricity, and while renewables' share of energy supply is growing, it is still relatively small and requires backup baseload power to ensure reliability of supply," Galilee said.

"Upgrading existing coal-fired power plants with new low emissions technology would ensure supply of reliable baseload power to NSW homes and businesses for decades, using existing energy infrastructure, distribution networks, and fuel sourced from existing NSW mines close to existing power stations."

Galilee said NSW was blessed with an abundant supply of high quality thermal coal that could be used by new technology power plants to generate electricity with up to 40% lower emissions than some existing power stations.

Minerals Council of Australia executive director of coal Greg Evans said the significant economic expansion occurring in Asia heralded a large-scale build of clean, efficient coal fired generators.

The latest International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook forecasts demand for coal in Asia will grow at 0.8% per year to 2040, with Indian demand growing at 3.6% per year and across South East Asia at 4.4% per year over the same period.

There are already 725 high efficiency, low-emissions units in the region with an additional 1142 units under construction or planned.

“To put that in perspective, the new HELE build represents more than 32 times Australia’s current coal-fired capacity and the build includes the latest and cleanest technology,” Evans said.

“As the Prime Minister indicated it is time we saw the most modern and clean coal plants in operation in Australia.

“The Prime Minister also spoke about clean coal technologies including carbon capture and storage and the sector looks forward to continuing to work with Commonwealth Government through the industry’s COAL21 Fund, which to date has invested $300 million in a range of significant projects.

“Australia’s energy policy must reflect the reality that we need a genuine mix of electricity generation options that deliver affordable and reliable power.”