Eraring Power Station Closure “Bitterly Disappointing” – Taylor

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.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/eraring-coal-exit-mb2361/