Origin boss backs Eraring to stop blackouts as states go nuclear on Dutton plan

Postponing the closure of Australia’s biggest coal-fired generator by at least two years will provide critical protection against the threat of blackouts as plans to roll out more renewables and power lines run into delays, Origin Energy’s boss says.is the latest in a string of announcements seized on by the federal opposition to attack state and federal Labor governments’ ambitious renewable energy goals, and instead promote its proposal for nuclear power plants across the country.

Under the new deal, Origin can be compensated up to $225 million a year if the plant runs at a loss, and will pay the government a portion of its operating profits, capped at $40 million, if it makes money.Origin chief executive Frank Calabria said the economics of coal-fired generation would still be “incompatible” with a power grid increasingly dominated by renewables.

“The renewables-only policy of Labor is going to result in higher electricity prices and less reliability in the system,” he said.up to seven locations where it intends to locate nuclear power plants should it win the next election. Potential locations include the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, the Hunter Valley in NSW, Collie in Western Australia, Port Augusta in South Australia, and Maranoa in south-west Queensland.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said a Labor government would never develop “risky, toxic and expensive” nuclear energy, while Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said his party did not “have any plans to introduce nuclear power”. Australia’s coal-dominated energy sector is transforming rapidly. At least half of the remaining 14 coal-fired generators on the eastern seaboard will close within the next decade, while renewable energy’s share of the energy mix continues to grow.

NSW Premier Chris Minns on Thursday said the people of NSW now had the certainty of reliable energy during the transition to net-zero emissions.

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