The true cost of keeping the Liddell power plant open

For a long time, Australian governments have believed that the private sector should run the electricity sector. And successive governments have used market instruments to incentivise reducing emissions, by supporting renewables, discouraging coal use, or both.

The Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley near Newcastle.

Now things seem inside out: uncertainty about energy policy mechanisms is pervasive, and the federal government is attempting to broker a deal for the ageing Liddell coal plant to stay open past its planned decommissioning date. It’s possible the plan will require government payments – amounting to a carbon subsidy.

Fear of supply shortages and an appetite for coal have combined with an inability to resolve the political side of energy and climate policy.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “The true cost of keeping the Liddell power plant open.”