Australia coal finds new lease of life
Melbourne
THE rise of wind and solar power in Australia was supposed to be the death knell for coal use in the world's biggest exporter of the fossil fuel, but the shunned fuel is finding a new lease of life and may yet attract subsidies to keep the lights on.
Growth in electricity demand and a drop in supply since 2014 have strained the Australian grid, triggering outages amid heatwaves and storms. The worst - an eight-hour blackout in South Australia last year - crippled industry for up to two weeks and provoked public outrage.
Supplies are set to tighten with France's Engie SA closing Australia's dirtiest power station, Hazelwood, this month. That means the national electricity market will need to replace about 10,350 gigawatt hours of "baseload power" that can be called upon when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining…
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Energy & Commodities
‘No trade war’, says Biden, pushing to triple tariffs on Chinese steel
Oil falls over US$1 as demand worries outweigh Middle East supply risks
Liberalise South-east Asia’s energy sector to attract more private finance: BlackRock official
First Resources denies allegations of links to firms clearing forests in Indonesia
Asian gas prices surge near highest this year amid conflict risk
Gold steady as geopolitical risks counter higher Treasury yields