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Advertise the owner of the Yallorn brown coal power plant in Latrobe Valley, Victoria It will close in mid-2028, four years earlier than previously planned

Announcement Energy Australia In the wake of widespread speculation that one or more of the fifteen coal plants remaining in the national grid will close early due to the influx of cheap solar and wind energy into the grid making it financially unsustainable.

Workers at the 1,480-megawatt plant were notified of the plan on Wednesday morning before a press conference.

General Manager of the company , Catherine Tana He said the company had contacted the Victorian government with a plan to shut down the plant, including a multi-million dollar support package for workers and the region.

It said it would build what it described as the world’s largest battery – with a maximum capacity of 350 megawatts and a storage period of four hours – by 2026 to ensure a smooth transition when the coal plant is closed.

The shutdown will cut the company’s emissions by 60%, Tana said.

EnergyAustralia’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Officially known as Yallourn W, the factory was built in the 1970s and has suffered several interruptions in recent years. The company’s previous position was to gradually close it between 2029 and 2032.

While federal and state governments have largely not recognized the possibility of shutting down coal plants sooner than planned, analysts have found that they are under mounting pressure for two primary reasons – they are unable to sell as much electricity as before, and the price. Of wholesale electricity has decreased.

a Final analysis By two groups – Green Energy Markets and Institute energy Economic and financial analysis – previous estimates found that they had underestimated the amount of solar and wind energy entering the system.

They found that the renewable plants built between 2018 and 2025 will add 70,000 gigawatt hours of new electricity supply – equivalent to more than a third of what is currently used across the national grid each year.

Experts stressed the need for a national transition plan to direct the inevitable shift away from coal-fired energy, given that it could accelerate sooner than expected.

The closure of Yallourn will follow the Liddell coal plant, in New South WalesIt will close in 2023.