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Western Australia (WA) has announced that all state-owned coal-fired power plants in Western Australia will be shut down by 2030 due to the massive spread of rooftop solar power throughout the state.
The 340 MW power plant in the southwestern town of Collie will close its doors in late 2027, and the nearby 854 MW Muja Complex will be completely closed by 2029 and the facility will be gradually closed.
According to a media release by the Government of Western Australia on Tuesday, the state’s electricity system is increasingly being challenged by the widespread adoption of rooftop solar, and energy generators and retailer Synergy are losing surplus electricity during the day. I’m forced to offload. Power generation costs borne by taxpayers.
Prime Minister Mark Magawan said Tuesday that the current power system is becoming unsustainable.
“If we keep the status quo, the average annual household electricity bill will increase by more than $ 1,200 within eight years,” he said.
“Or, taxpayers will have to steal money from major government projects and services and provide billions of dollars to the system.”
It is estimated that taxpayers will need to fork out about $ 3 billion ($ 2 billion) if Synergy’s ongoing losses are subsidized until 2029-30. Therefore, to address this, the state’s energy generation system will gradually shift to the use of renewable energy. — Government-guaranteed processes do not sacrifice electricity reliability and affordability.
“Western Australia will carry out a wise and controlled transition to more uses of renewable energy for power generation, while maintaining electricity reliability as a priority,” said McGowan. ..
This transition will include an investment of approximately $ 3.8 billion in the new Southwest Interconnection System (SWIS) green power infrastructure, including wind power and storage.
In addition, Synergy and Water Corporation is currently analyzing the feasibility of pumped storage projects that form part of storage needs, and Synergy is also investigating the potential use of hydrogen to power gas-producing assets. I’m investigating.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston called the new investment in SWIS “a special investment in the future of our power system.”
“We will work closely with affected companies, workers and communities to provide new employment and training opportunities for future-looking Collies over the coming decades,” he said.
To this end, the government has announced the Collie Transition Package. This includes a $ 200 million investment to expand the skills of 1,200 workers who lose their jobs but may move to new industries and create training opportunities.
Mia Davis, leader of the Western Australian opposition and Kuomintang, said Tuesday that anyone in the government has been discussing the transition with Collie’s industry and community for some time.
“And the community is very familiar with the closure of these coal-fired power plants at some point,” she said.
“It’s up to the government to have the resources and opportunities in Congress to ensure that the community is migrated in the best possible way.”
Meanwhile, Western Australia’s liberal leader, David Honey, emphasized the need to relocate other industries to Collie to provide enough work to make up for those lost in the coal industry.
“We need to understand the details behind the work that replaces the work lost due to the closure of the Collie power plant, not an extensive training program,” he said.
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Steve is a Sydney-based Australian reporter working on sports, arts and politics. He is an experienced English teacher, a qualified nutritionist, a sports enthusiast, and an amateur musician. Contact him at [email protected].
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