AGL’s plan to replace Liddell is cheaper and cleaner than keeping it open

The Commonwealth government called last week for AGL Energy to consider selling its Liddell power station to rival Alinta.

AGL has promised to replace the power generated
 by Liddell with a mix of other sources.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has raised concerns that the scheduled 2022 shutdown of Liddell will affect New South Wales’ energy reliability. It’s suggested the sale would provide a way to keep the ageing power station open past the end of its normal 50-year operating life.

However, AGL responded to government concerns in December 2017 by releasing a replacement plan. Liddell’s theoretical maximum output is 1,800 megawatts (MW), but the firm capacity – the power that can be relied upon at peak time – is 1,000 MW. AGL is confident this can be replaced by a mix of improved efficiency, renewables and demand response.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Senior Research Consultant from Sydney’s University of Technology, Kriti Nagrath -  “AGL’s plan to replace Liddell is cheaper and cleaner than keeping it open.”

Dithering over Hazelwood closure will lead to a messy end

Hazelwood's closure could be
 as early as next April.

The closure of Hazelwood is unfolding like Ernest Hemingway's description of going bankrupt: "gradually, then suddenly". Age, emissions and other energy options meant it was only a matter of time before Australia's oldest and dirtiest power station retired. Rumours permeated the Latrobe Valley for the last couple of years. But only now that an announcement appears imminent – and closure could be as early as next April – are governments starting to respond.

The federal government has said it's up to the power companies themselves to decide if and when to close coal stations. But leaving it up to the market means giving up control of critical infrastructure and the future of regional communities to a few big power companies.

We saw what happened when Alinta shut down South Australia's Northern coal station with just eight months' notice: 400 jobs gone, massive dislocation for the people of Port Augusta, and sudden pressures on the state's electricity system which the energy market operator is still figuring out how to address. The causes of South Australia's recent price spikes are many, but earlier attention to smoothing the impacts of coal exit could certainly have helped.

Now we are about to repeat the same experience in Victoria, on a larger scale. This is a messy way to undertake what Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg calls the transition to a lower emissions future.

Read Olivia Kember’s comment in today’s Melbourne Age - “Dithering over Hazelwood closure will lead to a messy end.”