Farewell Liddell: what to expect when Australia's oldest coal plant closes
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水曜日, 4月 12, 2023
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Liddell, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, is Australia’s oldest coal station.
Key Points:
- Liddell, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, is Australia’s oldest coal station.
- Governments must act to make sure our electricity grid doesn’t fall short when coal plants close.
- But the demise of facilities such as Liddell means Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global energy superpower.
Life after Liddell
- But closing Liddell is unlikely to cause the lights to go off in NSW.
- In the eight years since the decision to close Liddell, large-scale renewable capacity in NSW has ramped up, as has new rooftop solar.
- Without Liddell, about 13,500 MW of coal, gas and hydro generation is available.
- That’s why the energy industry is looking past Liddell, to the closure of the Eraring coal plant in 2025, and others to follow.
All eyes on Eraring
- Modelling by the Australian Energy Market Operator shows the closure of Eraring puts pressure on remaining electricity supply.
- However, it says the market would still meet the grid “reliabilty standard”, even if no new projects are developed.
Over to the Minns government
- The earlier-than-expected closure of coal units remains a possibility – as occurred with Victoria’s Hazelwood coal station due to unaffordable repair costs.
- We have previously recommended a “waiting room” for capacity that can be brought quickly into the market when required.
- The NSW Minns Labor government can also bring forward investment through an existing policy called the NSW Energy Roadmap.
- But we can take heart from news this week that under the federal Albanese government, renewables projects are being approved at twice the rate of previous years.
A new era
- Many new transmission lines must be built to carry electricity from renewables generators to the grid.
- And the ongoing development of renewable energy zones – clusters of large-scale renewable energy projects – will make establishing new projects quicker and simpler.
- But while adjusting to the exit of coal brings challenges, nuclear power in Australia is unlikely to be the answer.