‘Blind rush’: Manufacturers plea for coal power extension
Manufacturers called for baseload coal power stations to be kept running longer to keep electricity supply secure as the pace of the energy transition needed to meet 2030 climate targets falls far behind.
Industry leaders said a full assessment was needed of the feasibility and impact of reaching Labor’s end-of-decade targets for emissions reduction and renewable energy.
Lindsay Partridge: “We need some adults to take over the conversation and lay out a concise plan by which we can get to a reliable, affordable energy system between now and say 2050 or 2060.”
Some are questioning how the targets could possibly be met without the large-scale shutdown of energy-intensive industry, given the targeted closure of coal power plants, such as Origin Energy’s 2880-megawatt Eraring plant in NSW in 2025.
Brickworks managing director Lindsay Partridge described the 2030 targets as “complete nonsense”, given it was physically impossible to carry out the construction of renewable energy generation, back-up power and transmission lines in time.
He said if coal power plants were not kept running for longer – or were not replaced by similar baseload units – it would be “a disaster” with blackouts inevitable. He pointed to delays in critical “firming” projects such as Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro, planning problems for new wind and solar farms, and social licence issues with new transmission.
“On the current trajectory Australia is headed for a complete absolute disaster on the East Coast, there is no question about that,” he said.
“We need some adults to take over the conversation and lay out a concise plan by which we can get to reliable, affordable energy system between now and, say, 2050 or 2060.”
Steven Bell, chief executive of basic
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