Oldest coal-fired power plant in Australia shut down on Friday. As the country prepared for a seismic transition towards renewable energy.
The Liddell power station, located three hours north of Sydney. It was one of several old coal-fired units set to retire in the coming years.
Built in 1971, Liddell supplied around 10% of the electricity utilised in New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state.
AGL, Liddell’s owner, estimated that demolishing the massive complex would take around two years. Freeing up the property for potential sustainable energy projects such as a hydrogen power plant.
“More than 90% of the materials in the power station will be recycled,” the business stated. “Including 70,000 tonnes of steel – more steel than the Sydney Harbour Bridge.”
For decades, coal has provided the majority of Australia’s electricity. But Mark Diesendorf, a renewable energy expert at the University of New South Wales, told AFP that facilities like Liddell were quickly becoming unreliable “clunkers.”
Aside from being inefficient, dirty, and expensive to repair. Continued extensive use of coal-fired power plants would make meeting Australia’s climate commitments nearly impossible.
A promise to climate action
Australia has long been one of the world’s top producers and exporters of coal. And successive administrations have rejected calls to curtail the business.
However, the center-left Labour Party, which was elected last year on the promise of climate action. They has promised that by 2030, 82 percent of the country’s electricity will come from renewable sources.
While world leaders such as Norway produce more than 90 percent of their power through renewables. Australia now produces only about 30 percent.
“There are plans for a fairly rapid phase-out,” Diesendorf told AFP.
“These power plants are long overdue for retirement, and there is no economic justification for replacing them with new coal.”
Under increased public pressure to solve the climate catastrophe, many Australian fossil fuel firms prefer to close down ageing coal plants rather than keep them operational.
