❓ The Minister for Energy addresses concerns regarding the retirement of Muja power station's unit 6 and support for Collie workers during the energy transition, emphasising practical considerations and government commitment to the community.
AnsweredQoN 540Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ENERGY — SUPPLY
540. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to deliver a sensible and stable energy transition.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the retirement of unit 6 at Muja power
station will be delivered in a responsible manner?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is continuing to support local
workers in Collie as Western Australia transitions out of coal?
540. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to deliver a sensible and stable energy transition.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the retirement of unit 6 at Muja power
station will be delivered in a responsible manner?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is continuing to support local
workers in Collie as Western Australia transitions out of coal?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I know her deep commitment to seeing a genuine transition for the people of
Collie. I know it affects her on a personal level as well as being the member
of Parliament for her community.
(1)–(2) The
government is deeply committed to a sensible transition away from coal. I highlighted
something a minute ago in answer to an opposition question about swings in the
system. I want to again demonstrate that challenge with this chart, which is
the same chart but for the first week of January this year. Again, we can see
these massive swings, from below 1 000 megawatts of demand to more than 3 500
megawatts of demand. That is why it is so
hard to have coal-fired power stations working as they are designed to work . They are designed to grind away as baseload,
always providing the same level of energy from their systems . They do
not work very well when they need to do what in the industry is called ramp—respond
up and down to the demands of the system. That is why we have to close the
plant. It is not an ideological choice; it is a practical decision that
reflects the changing nature of the energy system.
We respect the workers in Collie, who
have delivered energy security and continue to deliver energy security for Western
Australians. That is why we are working directly with Synergy for the workforce
at Muja and Collie, and indirectly with the broader community, on a solid
transition.
This announcement today reflects that
we are listening to the advice we receive from the energy experts who operate the system. When the Australian Energy
Market Operator changed its prediction for the f uture demand for electricity, we responded to that. The
decision to retire the units was made four years ago. Now , the advice
that we have received is different from the advice received four years ago, so
we are outside the market continuing to make Muja C unit 6 available for that
extra summer so that if AEMO needs additional support from that unit, it will
be available to AEMO. We do not expect that it will be needed, but we want to
make sure that if it is needed, it will be available. We know that if we need
to extend the life over a long time, it will be costly. We do not want to have
a Muja AB disaster like when the former government spent $320 million trying to
breathe life into that old unit. We do not want to make the same mistake that
was made by the former Liberal government of breathing life into and trying to
hold onto equipment beyond its useful life.
We
are committed to supporting the workforce through that additional transition
period. Synergy is talking to the
affected workforce and I look forward to visiting Collie very soon to again
engage with the workforce . The community knows, because it has seen it
already, the Cook Labor government's commitment to that community.
Every time I go to Collie, I am amazed at the new jobs that have been created
down there. We are still working with major industrial users at the different
sites down there. The fact that both Neoen and Synergy are building grid-scale
batteries in Collie is a reflection of the advantages of that location. We want
to continue to work with the community down there because we want to thank them
for their years of service and we want to support them through this important
transition.
I know her deep commitment to seeing a genuine transition for the people of
Collie. I know it affects her on a personal level as well as being the member
of Parliament for her community.
(1)–(2) The
government is deeply committed to a sensible transition away from coal. I highlighted
something a minute ago in answer to an opposition question about swings in the
system. I want to again demonstrate that challenge with this chart, which is
the same chart but for the first week of January this year. Again, we can see
these massive swings, from below 1 000 megawatts of demand to more than 3 500
megawatts of demand. That is why it is so
hard to have coal-fired power stations working as they are designed to work . They are designed to grind away as baseload,
always providing the same level of energy from their systems . They do
not work very well when they need to do what in the industry is called ramp—respond
up and down to the demands of the system. That is why we have to close the
plant. It is not an ideological choice; it is a practical decision that
reflects the changing nature of the energy system.
We respect the workers in Collie, who
have delivered energy security and continue to deliver energy security for Western
Australians. That is why we are working directly with Synergy for the workforce
at Muja and Collie, and indirectly with the broader community, on a solid
transition.
This announcement today reflects that
we are listening to the advice we receive from the energy experts who operate the system. When the Australian Energy
Market Operator changed its prediction for the f uture demand for electricity, we responded to that. The
decision to retire the units was made four years ago. Now , the advice
that we have received is different from the advice received four years ago, so
we are outside the market continuing to make Muja C unit 6 available for that
extra summer so that if AEMO needs additional support from that unit, it will
be available to AEMO. We do not expect that it will be needed, but we want to
make sure that if it is needed, it will be available. We know that if we need
to extend the life over a long time, it will be costly. We do not want to have
a Muja AB disaster like when the former government spent $320 million trying to
breathe life into that old unit. We do not want to make the same mistake that
was made by the former Liberal government of breathing life into and trying to
hold onto equipment beyond its useful life.
We
are committed to supporting the workforce through that additional transition
period. Synergy is talking to the
affected workforce and I look forward to visiting Collie very soon to again
engage with the workforce . The community knows, because it has seen it
already, the Cook Labor government's commitment to that community.
Every time I go to Collie, I am amazed at the new jobs that have been created
down there. We are still working with major industrial users at the different
sites down there. The fact that both Neoen and Synergy are building grid-scale
batteries in Collie is a reflection of the advantages of that location. We want
to continue to work with the community down there because we want to thank them
for their years of service and we want to support them through this important
transition.
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