Alinta Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery warns the country is committing “economic suicide” by shutting coal power stations and blamed the “chaos” he said threatened to turn off the lights on shareholders and the febrile political environment.
Australia is committing “economic suicide” by closing coal-fired power stations prematurely, and the energy “chaos” that threatens to shut businesses and stoke cost of living concerns is a result of the febrile political environment, according to Alinta Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery.
Much of Australia’s coal capacity is scheduled to retire in the coming years amid a rush of new large-scale renewable energy projects. But Mr Dimery said there would be significant economic costs if the country’s traditional source of energy generation was forced out too soon. The energy crisis has reframed the attitude of some investors towards coal, but opposition from environmental advocates remains strong.There is also limited political will to boost coal after an election in which a wave of candidates promised action to curb the fossil fuel if elected.
The energy crisis is the first big test of the new Labor government, which convened a meeting with state energy ministers on Wednesday.Mr Dimery said the only short-term fix was to restore coal capacity. Even though about 25 per cent of the country’s traditional form of electricity generation was offline, he rejected the suggestion that renewables could offer a faster solution.
Several of Australia’s largest coal-powered generators are scheduled to run at reduced capacity through much of winter, straining the country’s energy market.Concerns were heightened on Tuesday when the Australian Energy Market Operator warned of “potential ongoing implications for reliability” in the National Electricity Market this winter because of the recent “challenges” with the availability of fuel.
“Coal has to be included in a capacity mechanism. Let’s just deal with reality and practicalities.
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