Page 6 - AsiaElec Week 06

AsiaElec COAL-FIRED GENERATION AsiaElec
Keeping Liddell open to cost $200mn
AUSTRALIA
THE Australian federal government’s plans to keep open the Liddell coal-fired power plant in NSW would cost AUD300mn ($200mn) of public cash, as plant owner and operator AGL is unwilling to provide the money.
A draft report from the federal and NSW governments was leaked to the media this week, stating that it would cost AUD300mn ($200mn) to support Federal Energy Minister Angus Tay- lor’s policy of keeping the 45-year-old, 2,000MW plant open.
AGL, which ran 10,245 MW of generating capacity in Australia in 2018, told the govern- ment in 2015 that it would close Liddell in 2022. It has refused to fund any extension to the plant’s working life.
This has prompted the pro-coal Liberal gov- ernment to consider supporting any extension.
AGL has been operating Liddell at only 1,000 MW because of its age and poor condition. It bought the plant from the NSW Government for AUD1.5bn ($1bn) in 2014.
It is keen to close the plant, and has outlined plans to build new capacity in NSW, including expansion to the nearby 2,640MW Bayswater TPP at a cost of AUD200mn ($140mn), the
construction of 1,600 MW of renewable capac- ity and the development of 250 MW of battery storage over five years. It aims eventually to end using coal by the 2040s.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government is a staunch supporter of coal, and has been criti- cised for its lack of a coherent climate policy.
At the weekend, Morrison’s government announced it would provide AUD6mn ($4bn) for two feasibility studies for new generation projects, including AUD4mn ($2.7bn) for a 1-GW clean coal plant at Collinsville in north- ern Queensland. The second project is a 1.5-GW hydro plant at the Urannah Water Scheme.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said new coal generators were not com- mercially viable and would lead to higher emis- sions and power prices.
“The cheapest form of new generation is a combination of renewables plus storage. Liter- ally that is no longer even a remotely contentious proposition,” he said.
Coal was responsible for 60% of grid power in Australia in 2018, when total demand averaged 33,941 MW, followed by hydro with 8.1%, gas with 8% and wind with 7.8%.™
Green energy eats into Australian coal generation
RENEWABLES
AUSTRALIA
GRID-CONNECTED solar output rose by 39% to 2,868 MW in Q4 2019 in Australia, eating into coal’s share of total supply and pushing down emissions and wholesale prices.
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s quarterly report noted that power-related emis- sions had reduced by 5%, the lowest since 2001. Black coal-fired generation decreased by 1,061 MW, compared to Q4 2018, reaching its lowest quarterly level since Q4 2016.
The AEMO blamed the fall on coal supply issues, unit outages, and displacement by solar output.
Total variable renewable energy (VRE) output across the National Electricity Market (NEM), which excludes the isolated Western Australia and Northern Territory grids, reached 2,868 MW in Q4, a 39% year-on-year rise. This accounted for 14% of the NEM supply mix in Q4 2019, compared with 10% in Q4 2018.
Average wholesale prices fell by 20% year on year to AUD72 ($48) per MWh, with the AEMO attributing this to increased solar, wind and gas-powered generation.
“Record variable renewable energy
generation growth in 2019 is expected to con- tinue into 2020, as the large amount of new capacity currently being accredited is likely to reach full generation by mid-2020,” AEMO said in the report.
“During December 2019 (and into January 2020), extreme heat, generator and transmis- sion line outages, and bushfires tested the NEM power system and led to price volatility,” the report said.
In Victoria, reserve levels were tight several days, with Lack of Reserve (LOR) conditions declared twice. On December 30, Victorian spot prices reached AUD6,443 ($4,297) per MWh.
This caused the AEMO to activate AUD3.5mn ($2.3mn) worth of reserve energy contracts in Q4.
Renewables output could have been higher, but curtailments reached the record high level of 6% of total VRE output. Network constraints and transmission outages meant that Australia’s national grid could not connect cope with out- put from solar and wind projects. The estimated averagecurtailmentreached75MW,theAEMO said, up from 14 MW in Q3 2019.™
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 06 12•February•2020