Australia’s biggest coal plant to delay closure

Origin may receive compensation of as much as A$225mil a year from the state to help cover the cost of operations. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Origin Energy Ltd will delay the closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired power station amid concerns renewable energy isn’t being added fast enough to keep pace with plans to quit fossil fuels.

The utility agreed to a request from the New South Wales government to keep operating the equivalent of two of the four units at the 2.9 gigawatt site – which accounts for about a quarter of power demand in Australia’s most populous state – until August 2027.