AGL moves up closure of Australia’s largest coal plant by a decade

Sydney, Australia, Sep 29 (EFE).- Energy company AGL announced Thursday it would advance to 2035, a decade earlier than expected, the closure of its Loy Yang A coal plant, the largest in the country, in the southern state of Victoria.

The company presented in a statement sent to the ASX stock market its plan to accelerate the transition of the largest Australian energy company toward a sustainable model in which the change of model toward renewable energy will prevail.

The early closure of the plant in Victoria could prevent the emission of 200 million tons of polluting gasses that contribute to the climate crisis, AGL said.

To counteract the energy production implied by the closure of Loy Yang A, the company “reaffirms” its commitment to bet on renewable energy sources with “an investment that will require AUD 20 billion (about $ 13 billion),” AGL President Patricia McKenzie said in a statement.

This closure is in addition to previous closure announcements of coal plants used by AGL, including the Liddell plant, in the Hunter Valley – north of Sydney – which ends its operations in April 2023, and the Bayswater plant, also in the Hunter Valley, which will remain in operation for less than a decade.

After taking office in May, Prime Minister Antonhy Albanese turned Australia’s energy policy around and pledged to turn his country into a renewable energy powerhouse to fight the climate crisis. EFE

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