Australia expects to shut down huge coal-fired power plant

The Loy Yang coal-fired power plant in Australia will be closed earlier than expected. It is responsible for 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

• Australia announces the closure of a coal-fired power plant responsible for 3% of national emissions.
• This is Loy Yang A, in Victoria, and is expected to close by 2035.
• Within a year there was Second closing announced Thanks to competition from renewable energy sources.

L ‘Australia, one of the world’s largest producers of per capita carbon dioxide emissions from coal, has long been considered a lag in climate policy. but now Coal-fired power plants seem destined to shut downIf you don’t fail, here too. Coal-fired power plant Lui Yang ain the Australian state of Victoria, It will be closed by 2035. to me clear up The company that owns the plant, Agl Energy, was on the one hand It is the largest producer of electricity Australia, but at the same time the biggest polluter: Loy Yang A, it emitted 16.6 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2019-2020. In the same period, the whole of Australia released 513.4 million. This means that you will close that position He alone is responsible for 3 percent for the entire island.

Australia now aims to cut emissions by 43% by 2030

At first shut it down It was due in 2048Then, last February, it was decided to extend its closure for three years. After the leadership change at Agl, the announced date is now 2035. Earlier this year, Australian billionaire Mike Cannon Brooks became the company’s largest shareholder and immediately forced Agl to become greener.

Since his election in May, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to Reducing 43 percent 2005 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to the commitment of his predecessor Scott Morrison, which was 26-28%.

We have to stop coal now

But many scholars However, they criticized the government It continues to support the fossil fuel industries. Climate Councilone of Australia’s leading NGOs working on climate change, says Agl’s decision is proof of that Coal is no longer commercially viable for the sake of the homeland.

That’s why, decisions like getting out of coal in 2035, Instead of getting out of it right away, this is unacceptable. There are more than 10 years until 2035 and the effects get rid of It will be noticeable even later, while the urgency of the climate is now.

Only renewables can shut down other coal plants

But the good news is that Lui Yang A’s case is not the only one: Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant in February – alarming north of Sydney – announce that will be closed Seven years ahead of schedulei.e. in 2025, and will be replaced by a renewable energy storage facility.

Its operator, Origin Energy, admitted it Can no longer compete With the flow of electricity produced from renewable sources. Thanks to the latter’s expansion, coal plants will be abandoned, becoming increasingly unsustainable from an economic point of view and forcing operators in the sector to bring forward their closing date.

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