LEADING climate and environmental groups from across NSW have called on the Minns government to rule out using public money to extend the life of Eraring coal fired power station.
"The people of NSW know that accelerating investment in renewable energy, storage and transmission is the best way to secure our energy future, not shovelling public money into a coal-fired furnace," Nature Conservation Council NSW acting CEO Dr Brad Smith said.
The climate, finance and civil society bodies hosted a press conference at NSW Parliament on Thursday morning, August 24 to shift focus on alternatives that can reduce power prices and ensure NSW delivers for the climate.
Dr Smith said keeping Eraring open for longer would be a disaster for climate, emissions reduction and energy bills.
"Bailing out polluting coal-fired power stations with taxpayer funds is unpopular, and for good reason," he said.
Despite NSW Labor's commitment to halving climate pollution by 2030, Dr Smith says propping up the Eraring power station "for even two years would make meeting climate targets practically impossible".
"Each year, this single facility emits the equivalent of the entire NSW passenger car fleet," he said.
Sydney Community Forum's Asha Ramzan said operating beyond the site's planned closure will have long-lasting implications for the people of the state.
"It lacks vision and reason. And it goes against everything that we believe is in the best interest of people who are struggling to manage the incredible cost-of-living pressures and the impact of climate change, rising temperatures and extreme weather events," she said.
"It will not provide any real benefits for the people of NSW but is guaranteed to contribute to global warming and increase the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities."
Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe said the NSW government has inherited a privatised energy market and while continuing to work with private owners, their focus is ensuring reliable energy at the lowest possible cost for households and businesses.
"NSW must transition to renewables to ensure the people of NSW have access to cleaner and cheaper energy as soon as possible, as coal-fire power stations retire," she said.
Since the election, just five months ago, Ms Sharpe said the Minns government has accelerated the transition to renewable energy.
"We've run tenders for more solar, wind and battery projects, commenced construction on the Waratah Super Battery, and secured a massive investment from the National Capacity Investment Scheme in partnership with the Commonwealth," she said.
"We have received the Energy Supply and Reliability Check Up report. We are considering the recommendations and will make the report and our response public."
Independent Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper has cautioned against closing Eraring before proven renewable baseload capacity is in place.
"I have not seen the Electricity Supply and Reliability Check Up but it is evident that our renewable energy infrastructure is not yet where it needs to be," he said.
He said he understands community concerns about extending the operation of Eraring but there were processes that need to be taken.
"I am a strong supporter of the transition to renewable energy, but we need to deal with the practical reality of the situation before us," he said.
"If the renewable energy infrastructure is not yet in place and there is a real risk energy reliability will be compromised, the government needs consider options to keep Eraring open past 2025.
"Any government support to extend the life of Eraring should, of course, be for the shortest period possible."
Felicity Wilson, the Liberal member for North Shore, who narrowly fended off a teal challenge at the last election, said the government should listen to market operator AEMO, which said NSW would meet reliability targets without an extension to Eraring.
"Instead what Labor and Minns have done is gone out to some Labor hack lobbyists for big coal to seek an alternative view to back up their plans to backflip on our environment, our economy and our consumers across NSW," she said on Thursday.
The review into NSW's energy transition was headed by Cameron O'Reilly, the former CEO of an energy industry lobby group and a federal Labor adviser during the Keating era.
The report's findings won't be made public until next week and Labor has said no decision has been made on extending the life of Eraring, but Premier Chris Minns has not been backwards in talking up its importance.
"It's now fundamental and central to the state's energy needs," he said on Wednesday.
"This is about getting the transition done right so that when you bring on renewables to fund and drive the NSW economy, we can do it in a way that's sustainable and doesn't lead to blackouts and energy disruptions."
The Greens will introduce legislation to parliament seeking to enshrine a target of net zero emissions by 2035, which climate change spokesperson Sue Higginson says is incompatible with extending the life of Eraring.
Labor promised to legislate an emissions reduction target before the election, but it is yet to act on the pledge.
"The lack of courage is quite stark," Ms Higginson said.
"We know what we need to do.
"We just now need the commitment, the roadmap and the courage to get on with the job."
