The writing has been on the wall for a long while. But Federal Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor seemed genuinely shocked by news of yet another early exit of a coal power plant.
Minister Taylor was not amused after an announcement from Origin Energy it was proposing to accelerate its exit from coal-fired power generation by closing down Eraring Power Station in August 2025, 7 years early.
Eraring Power Station is located on the shores of Lake Macquarie, approximately 120 km north of Sydney. With an overall generating capacity of 2,922 MW, it’s Australia’s largest power station and provides approximately 25% of New South Wales’ electricity requirements.
Eraring has been generating power for NSW for over 35 years, along with a shedload of greenhouse gas and toxic emissions – plus many millions of tonnes of (also toxic) coal ash.
But it’s not really environmental issues per se that have driven Origin to propose early closure. Origin CEO Frank Calabria stated (bolding mine):
“Australia’s energy market today is very different to the one when Eraring was brought online in the early 1980s, and the reality is the economics of coal-fired power stations are being put under increasing, unsustainable pressure by cleaner and lower cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries.”
The company says its cost of energy is expected to be more economical through a combination of renewables including pumped hydro, wind and solar power, storage and its fleet of peaking power stations.
Origin stated that as part of any replacement plan for the coal-fired clunker, it has well-progressed plans for a battery of up to 700 MW to be built at the site.
The company has come a long way since its days of actively undermining the growth of Australia’s renewable energy sector, which was less than a decade ago. But we won’t dwell on that.
Taylor – Electricity Affordability And Reliability At Risk
As with the announcement from AGL last week regarding early closures of coal-burners Bayswater Power Station at Muswellbrook and Loy Yang A plant in Victoria, Minister Taylor was quick to sow seeds of fear in relation to electricity availability and affordability following this early exit.
“This decision is bitterly disappointing for all energy users – from households to small businesses to heavy industry – who rely on affordable, reliable energy to prosper,” Minister Taylor stated.
.. and he again used the situation to spruik the claimed virtues of the Morrison Government’s controversial Kurri Kurri gas plant project.
Minister Taylor seemed a little pissed he didn’t find out about the proposed early closure of Eraring until Wednesday night, stating in a radio interview yesterday:
“Letting the federal government know in a timely way would be helpful, and that didn’t happen here and it is disappointing.”
But harking back to his official release, he mentions:
“This announcement is a commercial decision and Origin has chosen to provide the minimum 3.5-years’ notice.”
So, Origin complied with what was required – and if memory serves, that 3.5 year notification period was something put in place by the Morrison Government.
Kean – Affordable Electricity, Lights Will Stay On
New South Wales Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean – who had prior knowledge of the announcement for some time – painted a very different picture for the future; saying the State Government already had a plan in place.
“This is a comprehensive plan. It’s a plan that’s been signed off by the independent system operator AEMO that will ensure we keep the lights on and our system will be even stronger in 2025 than it currently is. It also ensures we put downward pressure on electricity prices.”
Part of this involves the “Waratah Super Battery”, a 700MW/1400MWh energy storage system. More details on the plan can be found here.
Minister Kean also said a comprehensive jobs package will be implemented for the ~400 workers and communities in the Lake Macquarie region affected by the early closure.
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Minister Taylor….. butt out.
The core tenets of Liberal Government – endorsement of free market and minimum government interference…..
The Liberals are doing the very opposite….. they’re trying to interfere telling free market operators what to do.
What is it with these Liberal/Coalition lot…. they are talking doublespeak.
You either have free market/minimum interference, or you control the market and interfere.
Affordable electricity rates should be targeted at the distributor/retail level, not the generation level. This is the crux of the problem.
Er how is the government having an opinion interference? So long as they aren’t legislating or funding anything what (market) interference is occurring?
Out of curiosity, what counts as affordable electricity rates – 10c/kWh, 20c/kWh, 25c/kWh, 30+c/kWh …?
George Kaplan,
The Federal Government is already interfering in the energy sector, for example through its commonwealth-owned Snowy Hydro Ltd, with the Morrison government’s $600 million subsidy for the commercially unviable 660 MW Kurri Kurri gas plant.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/18/clean-energy-companies-plea-for-government-not-to-get-in-the-way-of-renewable-shift
Minister Angus Taylor’s “coal-keeper” proposal has been lambasted by the most in the energy industry. Protecting legacy coal and gas plants will discourage investment in new flexible technologies.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/market-fracture-looms-as-states-and-power-industry-split-over-coal-keeper/
A lack of investment in the timely transition of the energy sector will mean higher energy prices. See the Mike Cannon-Brookes interview broadcast on ABC TV 7:30 last night (Feb 21):
“If you delay that transition, you will keep a high price of energy and that’s what we are seeing in the market.”
https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/mike-cannon-brookes-speaks-to-7.30-about-failed/13764178
IMO, the Morrison government’s energy policy is worsening Australia’s energy security (for electricity and liquid fuels) and facilitating higher energy prices in the longer-term.
As a second side point…
Does the Minister not care about the health of thousands of people living within proximity of dirty air polluters??
There’s no way I would live within 100kms of a coal power station. I drive through the Hunter Valley quite often when I go to Qld via the New England Highway.
The blight on the landscape of those coal mines… bleurgh…. looks disgusting. Give me acres of solar panel farms and wind turbines any day.
I don’t use the fresh air option in the car when I drive through Singleton and Muswellbrook until I’m well north of Scone. I can smell the sulphur content in the air. I don’t know how the residents put up with it and the fine dust particles must be doing long term damage to ones’ health. There was a report that said that Hunter Valley has a higher representation of respiratory related illnesses. Well, duh, all that coal mining, blasting and combustion is adding the nasties in the air people breathe.
I am glad to hear that transition plans for the 400 workers affected is in place, its important that on-one gets left behind as the energy industry (necessarily) evolves.
For context and comparison before Taylor and Pitt start spruiking fake employment numbers & impacts yet again, a large solar retailer or wholesaler in Australia typically employs 100-150 staff. One of the largest just announced they will close down this week (Infinite Energy) but I’m not holding my breath for a transition plan or assistance for them, or statements from the Minister about the terrible consequences for those staff or the indirect cost of suppliers.
There are an estimated 5000+ solar retailers in Australia of various sizes and ABS statistics show 26,850 people directly employed in renewables.
The Lake Macquarie area is a very beautiful part of NSW. From my observations, tourism could flourish more than it currently does.
The area is close to Sydney, has great transport routes and capacity for growth in the tourism sector.
I suggest that tourism could be a big employer of displaced power station workers.
And if it comes to a comparison between working in a coal-fired power station and being a tourism worker in the Lake Macquarie area, I know which I’d prefer!
In the Feb 17 statement by Australian Federal Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions, Angus Taylor MP, it includes:
https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/taylor/media-releases/statement-eraring-power-station
Firstly, it’s not sudden – Origin is flagging at least 3½ years advance warning of its intent to retire Eraring. Compare that with barely 5 months notice in Nov 2016 by Engie to close the 1,600 MW Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria in Mar 2017.
https://www.engie.com/en/journalists/press-releases/hazelwood-power-station-australia
Secondly, Australian Energy Security Board chair, Dr Kerry Schott, was publicly warning in Feb 2021:
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/coal-power-stations-going-broke-schott-20210216-p572xn
It’s curious to me that Minister Taylor was oblivious to discussions between NSW Minister Matt Kean and Origin over the last few months about the potential for earlier retirement of Eraring Power Station, until Taylor became aware on Wednesday (Feb 16) night.
Hear the podcast of Minister Taylor talking with Ray Hadley on Radio 2GB yesterday (Feb 17) at: https://www.2gb.com/act-of-betrayal-energy-minister-hits-out-at-nsw-counterpart-over-coal-fired-plant-closure/
Meanwhile, I viewed former Australian Chief Scientist (Nov 2008 to Mar 2011), Professor Penny Sackett, presenting compelling evidence and analysis to the Independent Planning Commission NSW (IPCN) earlier today re the SSD-10269 Narrabri Underground Mine Stage 3 Extension proposal. Continued GHG emissions from the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels (whether it is consumed in NSW or elsewhere) will be substantially detrimental to NSW’s and Australia’s longer-term economic interests. Professor Sackett also discussed climate tipping points, similar to points I referred to on page 5 in my attachment to my Submission at:
https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/projects/2021/12/narrabri-underground-mine-stage-3-extension-project-ssd-10269
It seems to me Minister Taylor is out of touch with reality.
You can not use the climate change argument any more.
Someone on the Dr Joe Rogan podcast said it was not real.
Can someone explain to me how we are closing more and more gas electric plants and replacing them with Batteries.
Just how are the batteries charged ??
Is there so much excess power from other sources available, presumably on a daily basis to charge depleted batteries ?
Yes Glenn, you’ve answered your own question! There’s so much excess generation in the day time that wholesale day time electricity prices regularly turn negative now. In 3 or 4 years time that problem will be heaps worse without significant investment in measure large scale such as the battery Origin have proposed.
And of course, there are other means of storing surplus power, Snowy 2 comes to mind, and adjusting the hours that off-peak power is available to encourage users to use power when it is cheapest and most plentiful.
Ideal for hot water storage and EV charging.
My post should have read
Can someone explain to me how we are closing more and more COAL electric plants and replacing them with Batteries.
Yes, otherwise why is Snowy 2.0 being built? It’s getting ready to soak up future excess renewable generation coming into service. Plus, with the closure of coal, curtailment will be lifted on existing VRE generation plants which then which opens the way for more batteries to take up excess generation. Snowy 2.0 is essentially a battery and will be the biggest single one, something like 2000MW/350GWh. Of course, it stands to reason how it will pan out out in 2026 when it’s in full operation.
But, closing coal fired generators will be a bonus for locals by removing toxic pollution from the air and water in an area which is naturally beautiful (the open cut mines are a eyesore). The coal industry in the Hunter Valley only provides about 5% employment. So, it won’t make a significant dent to the local economy.
Can’t wait to see all coal fired generators go… I may not live long enough to see the last one go scheduled in 2050, but the more I see them gone, the better. Time for those old dinosaur FF businessmen to go. We’re not in the 18th century anymore.
Yes, we may have transitioning issues moving to a cleaner grid but it has to happen, just as much as the world lumped the horse and cart in favour of horseless carriages. Shame, the battery technology (Li-ion) wasn’t around for EVs given that EVs were all the rage in the late 1800s/early 1900s. More impressive is the fact that the first EV predates the first ICEV by more than 50 years! We can only imagine where we would be if EVs had managed to stay the course. The Middle East wouldn’t be where it is now if the need for oil wasn’t required as much it does now. Future historians will look back one day and be astonished about the weird addiction humanity had for oil & coal in the 20th century. And how one man’s idiotic idea of putting lead in petrol just to avoid engine knocking that would lead to millions of people to suffer lead poisoning.
Glenn.
Batteries are only PART of the energy system, just like coal-fired generators are only part of the energy system (that needs to be phased-out rapidly because of its pollution/emissions, poor economic competitiveness, and poor energy flexibility).
The rapid transition to zero-emissions energy requires some key system components including:
* energy generators (e.g. solar-PV, wind turbines, hydro, solar-thermal, etc.);
https://reneweconomy.com.au/large-scale-wind-farm-map-of-australia/
https://reneweconomy.com.au/large-scale-solar-farm-map-of-australia/
* transmission – AC transformers, AC to DC & DC to AC convertors, towers/poles & wires;
* energy storage (e.g. batteries, pumped-hydro, hydrogen, molten salt, compressed air, etc.)
https://reneweconomy.com.au/big-battery-storage-map-of-australia/
https://reneweconomy.com.au/reneweconomy-launches-pumped-hydro-storage-map-of-australia/
https://arena.gov.au/projects/dispatchable-renewable-electricity-options/
* demand management.
See the YouTube video published 24 Feb 2021, titled 100% Renewable Energy solar/wind with pumped Hydro with Professor Andrew Blakers of Australia ANU below:
I happened to use an aerial image of Eraring for an illustration of the toxic/environmental impacts of coal-fired power stations that I prepared in 2011:
http://mpainesyd.com/filechute/COAL_HEALTH_EFFECTS.pdf
The footnote reads “Note: This is an indicative diagram only and is not intended to imply that the power station illustrated is a source of these pollutants” but …