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In today’s updated Climate Change Statement, EnergyAustralia has set targets including:
- Reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 20501
- Reduce direct2 carbon dioxide emissions by over 60% on 2019-20 levels in 2028-2029
- To transition out of coal assets by 2040
Leading retailer EnergyAustralia has today reaffirmed its commitment to the clean energy transition with an updated Climate Change Statement. The declaration now features specific emission-reduction targets and a commitment to develop a plan to transition out of coal.
Mark Collette, EnergyAustralia Managing Director, said: “The clean energy transformation is accelerating, with more renewable, storage and flexible energy technology available at lower costs than ever before. Our Climate Change Statement shares our pathway to net zero.”
“Our approach continues to be one of long-term planning, where we consult with governments and communities as we design and deliver our transition – while ensuring our 2.4 million customers maintain access to reliable and affordable energy,” Mark said.
One of the pivotal changes to EnergyAustralia’s climate statement is a commitment to develop a plan for how we transition out of coal. This means an earlier retirement date for Mt Piper power station in New South Wales.
“The energy transition has significant impacts for our power station workers and our local communities. While Mt Piper’s ultimate retirement date will be determined by several factors, we are committed to long term planning and supporting the transition for our workers and our local communities.
“For our customers we need to ensure that we can maintain reliable, affordable and low emissions energy as the system transitions. This is a real-world challenge that we must meet by employing a range of technologies. “We have, and will continue to make, significant investments as part of our commitment towards reaching net zero emissions.
This includes projects such as our carbon neutral gas and hydrogen power plant in New South Wales, Tallawarra B, and the Wooreen battery at Jeeralang in Victoria,” said Mark. EnergyAustralia’s updated Climate Change Statement is Mark Collette’s first major commitment as Managing Director since his appointment on 1 July 2021.
The announcement is coordinated with the broader CLP Group commitment to an updated Climate Vision 2050 for its regional portfolio, which sets more ambitious decarbonisation targets on the path to becoming net zero by 2050.
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Note to editors:
This year, EnergyAustralia has announced three projects that will become integral to the modern energy system in Australia:
- Bringing forward the closure of the Yallourn power station to mid-2028, underpinned by a multimillion-dollar package to support Yallourn workforce and a commitment to build Australia’s first four-hour utility-scale battery of 350 MW capacity by 2026 in the Latrobe Valley – larger than any battery operating in the world today EnergyAustralia’s carbon dioxide emissions will reduce by over 60 per cent relative to today once Yallourn retires
- Underpinning the 250 MW Kidston pumped hydro facility in Queensland, which has the potential to power up to 100,000 homes during periods of peak demand from 2025
- Committed to the 300+ MW Tallawarra B power station in New South Wales, which will be Australia’s first net zero emissions hydrogen and gas capable power plant. The new power station will deliver reliable power to around 150,000 homes in time for the summer of 2023-24. We are developing a pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project at our Mt Piper power plant site near Lithgow in New South Wales. This is a great example of reusing existing transmission assets and providing opportunities in the energy transition for existing communities.