Vic govt banks on clean-coal technology

The Victorian government is set to plough billions of dollars in to clean-coal technology, leaked confidential documents show.

The Age newspaper reports the government will use an education campaign to explain the need for the scheme, and the difficulties Victoria faces by relying on brown coal power under an emissions trading scheme without a clean-coal project.

And the papers acknowledge the plan to capture and store carbon emissions from brown coal electricity generation may not work.

The papers indicate the government believes renewable energy will eventually replace fossil fuels but "we will rely on renewables and fossil energy for decades".

The government, fearing electricity prices could rise even higher, will not place emissions limits on individual brown coal power stations.

But the documents indicate carbon capture and storage would be viable only if power prices rise in line with Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute report projections that power prices would jump by 78 per cent under emissions trading conditions.

They also indicate the government will help establish large scale solar energy plants and will explore other options including thermal and bio-energy power.