{"id":831995,"date":"2026-07-29T20:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T20:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/831995\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T20:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T20:52:13","slug":"uncertainty-over-coal-closures-haunts-wind-and-solar-projects-all-eyes-on-yallourn-as-exit-proof-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/831995\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncertainty over coal closures haunts wind and solar projects, all eyes on Yallourn as exit “proof point”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The failure of state and federal governments to set and adhere to firm end-dates for coal-fired power generation around Australia remains a thorn in the side of the renewable energy transition, industry says, creating investor uncertainty and suppressing the ability to attract the capital necessary to fund the shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Black and brown coal generators still make up more than 42 per cent of Australia\u2019s the electricity supply, with four coal plants still dominating the mix in New South Wales, three in Victoria, eight in Queensland and three in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

While many of these coal plants have dates penciled in for their retirement, these are largely set by the private companies that own the majority of them. And repeated delays and uncertainty over future changes is now cited as one of the main, if not the main, issue haunting the backers of new renewable developments.<\/p>\n

On top of this, state governments have shown a propensity to intervene in coal plant retirement timelines, most notably in New South Wales and Queensland, where the abject political fear of \u201cthe lights going out\u201d has led to public spending on keeping coal clunkers operating past their use-by date. <\/p>\n

And while costly, eleventh-hour coal extensions might settle political nerves, and cause a softening in wholesale electricity prices, they do nothing for the confidence of renewable energy developers or the international investors who back them \u2013 and nothing for the pace of the very transition that is needed to replace coal.<\/p>\n

Laura Caspari, who is the CEO of the Australian arm of France-based Engie, which closed the Hazelwood brown coal generator on short notice nearly a decade ago, says recent investment committee debate at the renewables giant\u2019s Paris headquarters was \u201calmost entirely\u201d about the certainty or uncertainty of coal retirements in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll give you Yallourn as an example, because it was an example in this case,\u201d Caspari told the Australian Clean Energy Summit in Sydney on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have the strong belief that Yallourn\u2019s going to come out, when we\u2019ve been told, on the 30th of June, 2028. But from my management\u2019s view, in Paris \u2013 they\u2019re looking at it on a global scale \u2013 they\u2019re seeing how coal continues to be extended under certain circumstances. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got Strait of Hormuz, we\u2019ve got all these issues and this volatility and they feel like, you know, we can\u2019t have the certainty around that. And so that that was the debate. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very frustrating\u2026 And that lack of certainty could have [prevented investment]. I\u2019m very fortunate that it didn\u2019t prevent that investment, but it will in other cases,\u201d Caspari told the Summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we need to really address what we can do to give a better signal there, because the signal is too weak. And then it becomes a circular thing, where you can\u2019t retire the coal because you\u2019re not getting the investment, but you\u2019re not getting the investment because you\u2019re not retiring the coal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela Catt, the executive general manager of government and sustainability at Tilt Renewables, also confirmed that uncertainty around coal retirement in Australia \u201ccertainly does change things in the investment committee and the boardroom.\u201d <\/p>\n

And Catt also invoked the examply of EnergyAustralia\u2019s Yallourn power station, in Victoria, in a separate panel discussion on the topic.<\/p>\n

For its part, EnergyAustralia has held firm about the aging plant\u2019s mid-2028 retirement \u2013 reaffirming its plans<\/a>\u00a0in March of last year, following Murdoch media reports that it was in secret meetings with government and the market operator to keep Yallourn open beyond that date.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergyAustralia has publicly announced, and reaffirmed multiple times, the closure of the Yallourn power station by 2028. We have committed to Net Zero by 2050 and closing Yallourn by 2028 is part of that commitment,\u201d the gentailer said at the time.<\/p>\n

To help replace Yallourn, EnergyAustralia has also made good on its promise to build the 350 megawatt (MW), 1,400 megawatt-hour (MWh) Wooreen Energy Storage System (WESS), a four-hour big battery in Victoria\u2019s Latrobe Valley.<\/p>\n

Last week, developers announced<\/a> that the Wooreen ESS was on track to begin operations in 2027, after the 1,038th and W\u00e4rtsil\u00e4 Quantum unit was safely delivered and installed, marking the completion of all battery installations on the project.<\/p>\n

Certainly, renewable energy developers are watching and hoping that EnergyAustralia does what it has promised with Yallourn and sets a new paradigm for oderly coal retirement in Australia. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0think we need a tangible proof point,\u201d said Catt on Tuesday. \u201cWe need a tangible proof point that the next coal power station that is set to retire, retires, and it retires on time. And, you know, Yallourn could be that perfect example. <\/p>\n

\u201cFive years ago they announced the the retirement timing of that \u2013 they gave seven years\u2019 notice \u2013 and what we\u2019re seeing is actually the right signposts on the way. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ve seen the replacement capacity being built. We\u2019ve seen \u2026 AEMO, the Victorian government, and Energy Australia \u2026 reconfirm that they are not in talks to delay the closure of Yallourn \u2026 and you know, we\u2019re seeing these proof points here. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo if we can have this this demonstration that EnergyAustralia announced Yallourn\u2019s retirement seven years ago, we\u2019re seeing the signpost, and then that actually happens, that is something we can make a bet on, and that is certainty,\u201d Catt said.<\/p>\n

In NSW, state energy minister Penny Sharpe insisted on Wednesday that Eraring, already delayed twice, will close as now advertised in early 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look at the four coal-fired power stations that are going to retire, and \u2026. are becoming more unreliable, causing massive wholesale spikes, thee are things we need to manage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I said, we\u2019ve got Plan A. Plan A is underway. There is no plan B.\u201d <\/p>\n

The need for clear closure dates was underlined by Danny Nielsen, senior vice president and country manager ANZ at Vestas, who was sitting in on the panel discussion with Catt, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all like certainty,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we also understand is we have to operate with uncertainties. But it is so important that transparency is there, that when you plan ahead two, three years you kind of can see that runway.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when when you suddenly see these exits not happening, when they are planned, well you have to replan because the runway is no longer there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll it\u2019s really doing at the moment is further suppressing the ability to attract that capital to make the shift,\u201d added Guy\u00a0Lynch, vice president of wind manufacturing at GE Vernova.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think Australia has to be aware that \u2026 we are walking into a period of time where we\u2019re going to be more directly competing with other industries that are prepared to pay more. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so by extending coal and not having a clear policy on when we exit it, it\u2019s not actually reducing the amount of cost in the medium term. It\u2019s going to increase [it].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please\u00a0click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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