CANBERRA (Reuters) -Australia’s Queensland state government said on Friday it would run coal power plants at least into the 2040s, reversing a previous plan to pivot rapidly to renewables and in turn making national emissions reduction targets harder to achieve.
The centre-right Liberal National Party won last year’s election in Queensland, a huge chunk of land in Australia’s northeast where more than 60% of electricity comes from coal-fired plants that are mostly owned by the state.
“The former Labor government’s ideological decision to close coal units by 2035, regardless of their condition, is officially abolished,” said Queensland Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki, laying out a five-year energy plan.
“Queensland’s coal-fired fleet is the youngest in the country and state-owned coal generators will continue to operate for as long as they are needed in the system and supported by the market,” he said.
The announcement highlights the divide between Australia’s major political parties on climate policies.
Labor, which holds power in the federal parliament and most states and territories, advocates the rapid development of renewable energy.
The federal government committed last month to cutting national emissions by 62%-70% from 2005 levels by 2035. Queensland’s previous Labor government said 80% of the state’s power would be from renewables by then, and it would have “no regular reliance on coal”.
Many Liberal and National Party figures, however, oppose what they see as a too-rapid rollout of renewable energy that would blight the landscape and hobble the economy.
Janetzki said sticking with coal generation in Queensland – a major coal producer – would save consumers money.
His plan envisions running coal plants at least as long as they were designed to run, which in several cases is until around the 2040s. The plants’ lifespans could also be extended where needed, according to the plan.
The five-year roadmap also calls for construction of a new gas-fired plant in the state and commits A$1.6 billion ($1.1 billion) to maintain the state’s coal, gas and hydroelectric plants, and A$400 million to drive private investment in renewables, gas and energy storage.
“This is a sensible and pragmatic plan, built on economics and engineering, not ideology,” Janetzki said.
($1 = 1.5232 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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