AGL to close Victorian coal-power station a decade early

Australian utility AGL Energy is planning an accelerated exit from all coal-fired generation, it said on September 29. The company will shut down the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria a decade earlier than planned, changing the closure date from 2045 to 2035.

The company has been under pressure to close its coal-fired power plants. Earlier this year, AGL withdrew the proposal to separate the company into AGL Australia and Accel Energy via a demerger, caving into opposition from top shareholder Grok Ventures.

AGL said it remains on track to close the Liddell power station in April 2023 and the Bayswater power station is on track for closure between 2030 and 2033. The early closure of Loy Yang A could avoid 200mn metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, the company said.

The company said it aims to progressively decarbonise its asset portfolio with new renewable and firming capacity.

“With the closures of Bayswater and Loy Yang A, we have also announced an ambition to meet projected customer energy demand with up to 12 GW of new firming and renewable assets before 2036,” AGL’s incoming interim CEO Damien Nicks said.

“As part of this ambition, we’ve set an interim target of 5 GW of new renewables and firming in place by 2030, expanding upon our 3.2 GW pipeline of high-quality projects to meet our growth ambitions,” Nicks added.

The renewable capacity building will require an investment of A$20bn ($13bn) which will be funded from a combination of assets on the balance sheet, offtakes and via partnerships, the company said.