Coal-powered power stations, starting with Victoria’s most polluting, would be phased out from next year under a plan the Greens party will pursue if it wins the balance of power at next week’s state election.
The announcement is the first time the Greens have been specific about their priorities if the party manages to be a pivotal force in a hung parliament, considered possible especially in the upper house.
Greens leader Christine Milne joined her state counterpart Greg Barber to announce the plan on Thursday. Milne said the party would prioritise the closure of Australia’s most polluting power stations, beginning with Victoria’s Hazelwood, Anglesea and one of Yallourn’s four units in 2015. The rest of Yallourn and Loy Yang B would be retired in 2023.
Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley is powered by nearby brown coal, and in 1995 was named the least efficient power station in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by WWF.
The previous Labor state government announced a gradual phase-out, but negotiations were cancelled by the incoming Coalition government on the grounds that it was too expensive. Hazelwood alone provides 25% of Victoria’s base load power.
“The closure of old Victorian power stations is inevitable,” said Milne.
“Victoria has a choice between a series of abrupt business failures that will cost jobs and rattle the economy, or a planned phase-out that will preserve jobs and the state’s skills base.”
If the Greens hold the balance of power – which would mean no major party had a majority of seats in the parliament – it would seek to amend the Electricity Industry Act and force the relevant minister to withdraw the stations’ generation licences. The Greens claim no compensation would be payable.
The plan “will help Victoria smoothly transition away from coal-fired power without causing job losses, while setting up communities for the industries of the future”, Barber said.
“The plan should be a priority for Victoria and the Greens will be using our position in the new state parliament to push for it.”
So far neither the Coalition nor Labor have made climate change and the environment a focus in the campaign and have no plans to phase out coal-fired power stations.
The Greens’ proposal would see decommissioned power plants and mines rehabilitated and replaced by solar farms and other renewable energy projects to create jobs.
Citing the Australian Energy Market Operator, which manages the national electricity grid, the Greens say Victoria has more energy than it needs and could phase out some power stations without risking blackouts and price increases.
It says it would use money from the National Stronger Regions Fund, a $1bn fund to provide for infrastructure in regional areas, to deliver a jobs taskforce for the Latrobe Valley. No costing was announced with the policy.
Environment Victoria welcomed the announcement, saying more than 50% of the state’s greenhouse pollution came from a handful of brown coal power stations.
“The energy regulator is saying that at least one large and one small power station are superfluous to our energy needs. This begs the question: why we are allowing these unnecessary power stations to continue to pollute.”
Premier Denis Napthine said his government had increased the energy supply from renewable energy from 7% to 12% and would pursue further opportunities.
“What we will do first and foremost is to make sure that we have a reliable supply of electricity for Victorian households and businesses and make sure it’s an affordable supply. Any major decision that threatened supply in this state needs to be seriously considered.”
Labor did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for GDF Suez, which operates Hazelwood, said it would be inappropriate to comment but said that the company was watching the election with interest.
