One Of Australia's Dirtiest Coal Power Plants (Lignite) To Close Early In . . . . 2028
One of Australia’s dirtiest coal-fired power stations, Yallourn in Victoria’s Latrobe valley, will close four years earlier than scheduled and be replaced, in part, by a grid-scale battery. EnergyAustralia announced on Wednesday it would shut the 1970s-built, 1,480-megawatt brown coal plant in mid-2028.
There have been several outages at the ageing generator in recent years and a widespread expectation that at least one coal plant would shut early due to an influx of cheap renewable energy making them financially unviable. About 500 workers at the plant and connected coalmine were told of the decision on Wednesday morning. The company’s managing director, Catherine Tanna, told a subsequent press conference that EnergyAustralia had a plan that was supported by the Victorian government and included a $10m workforce support package.
Climate campaigners said the closure was inevitable, but not soon enough given the scientific evidence about what was needed, and called for a government-supported transition plan for affected Gippsland towns.
Tanna said the company would built a long-duration large battery, with four hours’ storage and maximum power capacity of 350 megawatts, by 2026 to help ensure a secure energy supply when the plant shut. She said it was bigger than any battery now operating, but larger batteries were proposed elsewhere.
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/10/yallourn-close-early-victoria-australia-brown-coal-power-stations-giant-battery
