These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. Australia's fleet of coal-fired power stations are aging and many are due for decommissioning, and are being replaced by a combination of mostly renewable energy. In early 2017, 75% of the coal-fired power stations in the country were operating beyond their original design life. [1]
The declining cost of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, wind power and battery storage, means it is unlikely a new coal-fired power station will ever be built in Australia. [2] The Liddell Power Station is the latest major coal-fired power station to be decommissioned, which took place on 28 April 2023. [3]
These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce. Australia currently (2024) has 15 coal-fired Power Stations with 6 of these scheduled for decommission by 2035. In 2024 the Australian federal government announced that it would be building multiple new natural gas power stations to replace this massive reduction in energy production and support the intermittent energy production of less reliable renewable sources such as solar and wind already planned.
In early 2017, 75% of the coal-fired power stations in the country were operating beyond their original design life. Australia's coalfired-power-stations are considered-too-old-and-among-worst-in-the-oecd. However since the initial writing of this article the military conflict in Ukraine and the subsequent destruction of the Nordstream pipeline has led to Germany and other European nations to return to burning lignite coal - the dirtiest (least green) form of baseload energy production. In such cases and in Germany especially this has required the reuse of very old, previously decommissioned coal fired power plants and this in turn has effected Australia's ranking amounts other oecd nations in this regard. The previous two decades of inconsistent government policy and planning has created a deep uncertainty in the Australian energy market which has in turn driven a narked increase in borrowing costs for the construction of new coal-fired Powerstations. whilst borrowing costs are the largest component of the cost of constructing new coal fired power stations, The declining cost of manufacturing solar panels in china and significant government subsidisation of Renewables has created a false equivalence between renewables and coal, leading many to believe than no new coal fired Powerstations will be built in Australia in the future. However as Australia is one of the largest producers of coal with more than enough reserves to meet its own energy needs for centuries to come, it seems likely that coal will continue play a major role in Australia's energy production mix into the foreseeable future. The Liddell Power Station is the latest major coal-fired power station to be decommissioned, which took place on 28 April 2023.[1]
Power station | Commission year | Scheduled closure year | Max. capacity (MW) | CO2 emissions (t CO2-e/year) | Emission intensity (t CO2-e/MWh) | Turbines | Coal type | Conveyance | Mine type | Cooling water | Status | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayswater | 1982 [4] | 2033 [5] | 2,640 | 13,725,965 [6] | 0.88 [6] | 4 | bituminous | conveyors, rail | open cut | fresh | Active | AGL |
Eraring | 1982 [4] | 2025 [7] [a] | 2,880 | 14,914,916 [6] | 0.87 [6] | 4 | bituminous | rail, truck | underground | salt | Active | Origin |
Mt Piper | 1993 [4] | 2040 [9] [10] | 1,400 | 6,841,302 [6] | 0.87 [6] | 2 | bituminous | road, conveyor | underground | fresh | Active | EnergyAustralia |
Vales Point B | 1978 [4] | 2033 [11] | 1,320 | 7,015,626 [6] | 0.86 [6] | 2 | bituminous | conveyors | underground | salt | Active | Delta |
Total (MW): 8,240
Power station | Commission year | Scheduled closure year | Max. capacity (MW) | CO2 emissions (t CO2-e/year) | Emission intensity (t CO2-e/MWh) | Turbines | Coal type | Conveyance | Mine type | Cooling water | Status | Refs | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Callide B | 1989 [4] | 2028 [12] | 700 | 5,103,540 [6] | 0.92 [6] | 2 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | [13] [14] | CS Energy, Intergen |
Callide C | 2001 [4] | Not Announced [15] | 810 | 5,265,665 [6] | 0.9 [6] | 2 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | [13] [14] | CS Energy, Intergen |
Gladstone | 1976 [4] | 2035 [12] | 1,680 | 8,547,021 [6] | 0.95 [6] | 6 | bituminous | rail | open cut | seawater | Active | [13] | Rio Tinto, NRG |
Kogan Creek | 2007 [4] | 2042 [15] | 750 | 4,360,686 [6] | 0.83 [6] | 1 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | dry cooled | Active | [13] | CS Energy |
Millmerran | 2002 [4] | 2051 [15] | 852 | 5,794,351 [6] | 0.82 [6] | 2 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | dry cooled | Active | [13] | Intergen [16] |
Stanwell | 1993 [4] | 2046 [15] | 1,445 | 7,637,735 [6] | 0.87 [6] | 4 | bituminous | rail | open cut | fresh | Active | [13] | Stanwell |
Tarong | 1984 [4] | 2037 [15] | 1,400 | 10,473,950 [6] | 0.86 [6] | 4 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | [13] [17] | Stanwell |
Tarong North | 2002 [4] | 2037 [15] | 443 | 1 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | [13] | Stanwell |
Total (MW): 8,080
Power station | Commission year | Scheduled closure year | Max. capacity (MW) | CO2 emissions (t CO2-e/year) | Emission intensity (t CO2-e/MWh) | Turbines | Coal type | Conveyance | Mine type | Cooling water | Status | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loy Yang A | 1984 [4] | 2035 [18] | 2200 | 20,107,115 [6] | 1.17 [6] | 4 | lignite | conveyors | open cut | fresh cooling tower | Active | AGL |
Loy Yang B | 1993 [4] | 2047 [15] | 1050 | 10,132,776 [6] | 1.14 [6] | 2 | lignite | conveyors | open cut | fresh cooling tower | Active | Chow Tai Fook, Alinta Energy [19] |
Yallourn Power Station | 1975 [4] | 2028 [20] [21] | 1480 | 13,856,313 [6] | 1.34 [6] | 4 | lignite | conveyors | open cut | fresh cooling tower | Active | EnergyAustralia |
Total (MW): 4,730
Power station | Commission year | Scheduled closure year | Max. capacity (MW) | CO2 emissions (t CO2-e/year) | Emission intensity (t CO2-e/MWh) | Turbines | Coal type | Conveyance | Mine type | Cooling water | Status | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Collie | 1999 [4] | 2027 [22] | 340 | 1,848,693 [6] | 0.91 [6] | 1 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | Synergy |
Muja | 1981 [4] | 2025 (Unit 6)
[23]
[24] 2029 (Units 7 & 8) [22] |
654 | 3,982,663 [6] | 0.9 [6] | 4 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active (units 1–5 closed) | Synergy |
Bluewaters | 2009 [4] | – | 416 | 2,966,541 [6] | 0.88 [6] | 2 | bituminous | conveyor | open cut | fresh | Active | Sumitomo Group, Kansai Electric |
Total (MW): 1,410
The Australian Capital Territory does not use coal or oil to generate electricity. The Kingston Powerhouse being the last coal-fired power station in the territory, which was decommissioned in 1957.
The Northern Territory relies predominantly on natural gas, as well as various renewable energy sources. Likewise, it has no functioning coal-fired power stations.
South Australia previously had a number of coal power stations. The last to be closed were the Northern and Playford B power stations. [26]
Tasmania has no functioning coal-fired power stations, instead using primarily hydroelectricity, with natural gas used as a backup.
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