Western Australia to become coal-free by 2030 with Muja power station to be shut down

(The Guardian, 14 Jun 2022) Mark McGowan says state’s two remaining coal-fired power stations are becoming less viable due to rise of renewable energy.

Western Australia will shut its last coal-fired power unit before the end of the decade and spend an extra half a billion dollars to foster new jobs for displayed workers, the state government said.

Later this year, the first of the 854-megawatt Muja power station’s units near Collie, south of Perth, will close, with the entire plant to be shut by 2029. The nearby 340MW Collie plant will exit the market by the end of 2027, the premier, Mark McGowan, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The state will join South Australia, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania to be coal-free in its power generation. A report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) last year said Australia could exit coal-fired power entirely by 2043.

WA runs its power grid separately from the rest of the country. The rise of solar power – particularly on rooftops – had led to the two remaining coal plants becoming less viable, the government said.

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The Guardian, 14 Jun 2022: Western Australia to become coal-free by 2030 with Muja power station to be shut down