<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/victoria-coalition-says-it-may-keep-old-coal-clunkers-running-and-will-scrap-plans-to-move-away-from-gas/>
"Victoria’s Coalition opposition has stopped just short of pledging to extend
the life of the state’s remaining coal-fired power stations, announcing that it
will not shut any of them down early – something literally no one is proposing
to do – while also pledging to reverse the state’s transition away from gas.
In a statement published on Friday, the Victorian National Party’s state member
for Morwell, Martin Cameron, said a Nationals and Liberals’ Energy Security
Requirement would secure “additional new firm electricity generation” through
competitive tenders.
And while he stressed that this would not include new coal plants, Cameron says
the Energy Security Requirement complements the LNP’s plan to “throw open the
door to new conventional gas exploration and extraction and overturn Labor’s
ideological gas ban.”
“We don’t need new coal-fired power stations, we just need to allow the
existing ones to operate until the end of their lives,” Cameron said.
“Coal has a role to play in ensuring the lights stay on while alternative
energy resources come online and until they can replace the base-load power
Victorians rely on.”
Victoria is due to hold its next election in November, and the result looks too
close to call, with Labor in turmoil and tailing the Coalition, and One Nation
polling strongly.
The renewables industry fears that a Coalition state government will follow the
Queensland LNP, which has ripped up renewables targets, extended the life of
coal generators, and put obstacles in the way of new wind and solar."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
