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When it was first announced in 2017 that Australia’s oldest power station, Liddell, was to close, the news caused a political firestorm.
After the sudden closure of another coal plant sent energy prices soaring, the announcement prompted fears that the closure of Liddell, which opened in 1971 and accounts for 10 per cent of New South Wales’ energy, would have the same effect.
Politicians accused its owner, AGL Energy, of trying to “short the market,” while residents in the Hunter Valley expressed concern about job losses. The Coalition government went so far as to try to strike a deal for the power plant to be sold to a competitor looking to extend its operating life, and the news has become a flashpoint for debate over the future of Australia’s electricity and renewable energy systems.
But today, when the last unit of the power station is turned off, it is in a very different environment.
Workers have been transferred to other power plants down the road or retired. Fears about the impact on the energy grid have been muted – although some concerns remain that the closure will lead to higher electricity prices at peak times. AGL’s plans to turn Liddell into an “industrial energy hub” include building batteries on the site and exploring solar, wind and hydrogen power.
And it comes as Australia makes a seismic shift to renewable energy and sheds decades of reliance on coal power. Since 2017, renewable energy has doubled from 16.9 percent of Australia’s total energy to 35.9 percent in 2022, according to the Clean Energy Council. The ruling Labor Party has committed that by 2030, 82 percent of Australia’s energy will come from renewable energy.
“Australia has and still has one of the dirty power systems, but it is moving quite quickly,” said Chris Briggs, director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney.
But as the transition accelerates, experts warn that Australia needs a clearer national plan to manage its exit from coal power.
“The approach of the government is that they will try to speed up or facilitate the storage and transmission of renewables – a kind of good news about the story – but no one wants to hold their hands and be responsible for closing the project – which is politically contentious,” Dr. Briggs said. “And we missed the other side, which is the plan to admit and make a schedule to close, and manage in a more organized way.”
It may be tempting to look at Liddell’s orderly closure and assume that the system is working, he said, “but the risk is, when you get to the end of this decade, if the government’s plan to get to 82 percent is actually feasible and we’re on that path, then you can be rushed, a group of coal plants that are closed at the same time in a short period of time.
There is also the possibility that the owners of these plants will decide to postpone the closure to take advantage of the surge in energy prices that may occur when other power stations are closed, he added: “So the other owners are sitting, hoping that others will close first and they can get which is another bit of revenue from the plant. However, it is not possible to understand the desired time in order to manage this transition.
In addition, the Australian Council of Trade Unions called for a national authority to be established to manage the transition to renewable energy, which would coordinate with government bodies to ensure that affected workers have options for education, employment and redundancy.
“We cannot leave this to the market,” the union said in a statement. “A fair transition plan is vital for workers and communities, such as those around Liddell Power Station, who are experiencing the impact of the changes.”
Now for this week’s story:
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