Coal closures kick off WA debate
WA’s Energy Minister says the state’s opposition wants to ruin the coal industry.
The WA Government has reacted to the end of coal-fired power generation in South Australia last week, after Alinta Energy closed its Port Augusta station, leaving the state largely reliant on renewable energy.
West Australia’s LNP government has plans to shut cut up to 380 megawatts of power generation capacity by 2018, and will have o shut down several power stations to hit that mark.
But Labor MP Mick Murray says WA should wait and see what happens in SA.
“I think it's time the Government sat down and watched what happens in South Australia before they make any moves over here,” Mr Murray told the ABC.
“The jury's out, and if something goes wrong then we can not make the same mistakes over here.”
Mr Murray said he backed a ‘mix’ of energy sources.
“At the moment in Western Australia we have coal and gas, a very good balance and I believe we should maintain that for a bit longer yet.”
But WA Energy Minister Mike Nahan says Labor just wants to shut down coal stations.
“What happened in Port Augusta in South Australia is exactly what would happen in WA under Labor,” Dr Nahan said.
“Collie would suffer and Muja A, B, C and D would close in less than 10 years because Labor is committed to 50 per cent of our electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2030.”
But Dr Nahan cannot guarantee similar plans will not result from Synergy’s report on which WA power stations should be retired.
“There is a future for coal-fired power stations but the energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation and we need to ensure there is an appropriate mix of generation sources,” he said.
The lack of an official plan did not stop the energy minister from slamming his opposition.
“[Mr] Murray needs to come clean on what he stands for given he is a member of the anti-coal party,” he said.