Liddell power station demolition.
AGL
Two enormous chimney stacks, about 5050 feet tall, in the Liddell coal power plant came crashing down last month. The AGL Energy plant was decommissioned three years ago, and this was the first stage of the demolition of four steam driven turbines amounting to 2000 MW (megawatts) or 2 GW (gigawatts) built about 52 years ago near a medium-sized town called Muswellbrook, about 3 hours north of Sydney.
Energy giant AGL, said the ageing equipment was subject to breakdowns and was increasingly unreliable. But where is AGL, an energy giant, headed? And where is Australia headed in the matter of coal transition to renewable energies?
AGL Transition Plans.
AGL Energy is one of Australia’s largest energy providers of electricity, natural gas, and telecommunications to homes and businesses. Although AGL has been the largest carbon emitter, it is transitioning to renewables. This includes closing coal-fired power plants and at the same time investing in wind and hydro renewables, and grid-battery storage.
AGL has two coal power plants left. Bayswater in New South Wales will be retired in 2033, and Loy Yang A in Victoria in 2035.
After the full demolition, the Liddell site will be converted to the Hunter Energy Hub. The centerpiece is a new grid-scale battery of 500 MW and 2-hour electricity supply, which was turned on earlier in the year. And there are plans to develop an eight-hour pumped hydro storage project.
But the main objective seems to be rehabilitating the land, water, and electricity grid to support new industries. Muswellbrook mayor Jeffrey Drayton says industry is flocking to the area, including, “More than 40 different businesses interested in manufacturing, including for renewable energy components, recycling, as well as agribusiness such as meat works and chicken farms.”
Australia Transition Plans.
Australia is coal country. It is the number 1 exporter of coal, by export value, in the world: US$ 43-55 billion. Primary markets are Japan, China, India, and South Korea. Coal has also been the centerpiece of Australia’s electricity market for a long time. But change is coming. At least half of coal power plants on the eastern side of the country are planned to close within ten years. The infrastructure wears down over time, and can no longer compete with cheaper renewables.
Governments and energy companies have been installing solar and wind farms, grid-scale batteries, and new transmission lines. AGL itself plans to build 12 GW of renewables over the next ten years.
It’s a bit of a surprise, but renewables and batteries have provided more than 50% of Australia’s main grid over the past six months. This is the first time ever. But what about electricity prices? The good news is that steep drops in wholesale electricity costs should begin to flow to consumers after July.