ALMOST 12,000 people have called on the government to withdraw Howard-era funding to build a coal-fired power station in Victoria.

Victorian Labor MP Kelvin Thomson tabled a petition with 11,916 signatures in the House of representatives yesterday calling on the federal government to use the $100 million to invest in renewable energy instead.

"The commonwealth government is currently reviewing its proposed outlay and the state government should be doing the same," he told the lower house.

"There are better ways to spend or not spend $100 million."

Mr Thomson told the chamber the 600 megawatt power station proposed by HRL would produce about 4 million tonnes of carbon a year.

This was at odds with a legislated Victorian target to reduce emissions in the state by about 24 millions tonnes each year to 2020.

Environmental groups applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last year to stop the power station being built.