04-04-2022, 10:25 AM
Interesting article about the impending closure of Eraring, the biggest coal-fired power station in Australia. Renewable power has resulted in the closure being brought forward by 7 years to 2025.
Switching off, abc.net.au
The article shows how badly the shutdown will affect the workers at the plant and the local businesses which rely upon it. It also notes how well Germany handled the transition from fossil fuel energy generation to renewables and how badly governments handle the transition. The Germans made sure the transition would unfold over 50 years. Our transitions happen almost overnight.
But the fact that the power plant is going to be replaced by a battery is a pretty clear indication that nuclear power has no chance of taking off in Australia. The power plant is called Eraring after Lake Eraring, a plentiful supply of water. It also has the facilities to step up power to transmit it to the grid. After all, it supplies 20% of NSW's power. It's also in a regional location, so it wouldn't attract too many NIMBY complaints. I'd imagine the local residents would prefer the power plant to be replaced by another power station that would bring jobs with it, whereas the battery will only involve a construction crew of 128 and only 10 jobs once it's completed.
Yallourn is also closing by 2028 and will again be replaced by a battery: Energy Australia to close Yallourn power station early and build 350 megawatt battery, abc.net.au.
Switching off, abc.net.au
Quote:For the most part, Eraring workers aren’t angry at Origin Energy. They have seen the rapid rise of renewables like rooftop solar steal the cream off the plant’s profits. And they’ve watched as their power station, which must run continuously, is forced to keep producing when the price of electricity crashes.
They understand that this, along with growing numbers of large wind and solar farms coming onto the grid, will make their coal-fired power station unviable.
Quote:For its part, Origin Energy plans to install a battery on the site of Eraring Power station.
The article shows how badly the shutdown will affect the workers at the plant and the local businesses which rely upon it. It also notes how well Germany handled the transition from fossil fuel energy generation to renewables and how badly governments handle the transition. The Germans made sure the transition would unfold over 50 years. Our transitions happen almost overnight.
But the fact that the power plant is going to be replaced by a battery is a pretty clear indication that nuclear power has no chance of taking off in Australia. The power plant is called Eraring after Lake Eraring, a plentiful supply of water. It also has the facilities to step up power to transmit it to the grid. After all, it supplies 20% of NSW's power. It's also in a regional location, so it wouldn't attract too many NIMBY complaints. I'd imagine the local residents would prefer the power plant to be replaced by another power station that would bring jobs with it, whereas the battery will only involve a construction crew of 128 and only 10 jobs once it's completed.
Yallourn is also closing by 2028 and will again be replaced by a battery: Energy Australia to close Yallourn power station early and build 350 megawatt battery, abc.net.au.