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SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia’s largest coal plant will shut down in 2025, seven years ahead of schedule, its operators announced Thursday, arguing that the facility is no longer viable due to low-cost renewables.
Origin Energy assured investors that an “influx of renewables” was “draining the economics” of the massive Eraring plant in north Sydney.
The plant contains four 720 MW coal-fired generators and one 42 MW diesel generator that provides a quarter of the electricity needed in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state.
“Today we have identified the potential to accelerate the shutdown of Eraring by mid-2025,” said Frank Calabria, CEO of Origin Energy.
The plant has been in operation for nearly 40 years and was scheduled to close in 2032.
“The reality is that the economies of coal-fired power plants are under increasing and unsustainable pressure from generating clean, low-cost energy,” he said.
The company has a $173 million plan to convert the plant and install a 700-megawatt battery.
Australia is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of coal and gas.
© 2022 AFP
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