![\"Liddell](\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/liddell-station-closure.jpg\")
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First switched on back in 1971, coal- fired clunker Liddell Power Station will very soon be switched off for good. So, what impact will this have on electricity prices? Will there be blackouts?<\/p>\n
Located adjacent to Lake Liddell near Muswellbrook in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, the intention to construct Liddell Power Station was announced in the mid- 1960s as a response to growing electricity demand\u00a0 in the state.<\/p>\n
Construction began in 1969 and was completed in 1973, but the first generator started cranking in 1971. Fully completed, Liddell Power Station was comprised of four 500-megawatt (MW) units, totaling 2,000 MW of nameplate generation capacity. That was later reduced to an operational capacity of 1680 MW as pushing the old turbines any harder would have likely ended badly.<\/p>\n
After nearly 50 years of spewing harmful emissions<\/a> and creating monster quantities of toxic coal ash<\/a>, Liddell owner AGL formally notified the Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in 2019 that the first generation unit was to close in April 2022.\u00a0 Following an independent engineering assessment, AGL determined the remaining three units will close in April 2023.<\/p>\n A staggered approach will be used for unit shutdowns:<\/p>\n By switching Liddell off, AGL says this will reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 17% by FY24. It’s been claimed that in 2019\/20 AGL was responsible\u00a0 for 42 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – more than 8 per cent of Australia\u2019s total emissions and allegedly making it Australia’s “biggest climate polluter<\/a>“.<\/p>\n The company has been keen to paint itself in a more positive light, recently launching its Join The Change campaign that seeks to strut its renewables street cred and convince Australians:<\/p>\n “The world is changing – and so is AGL”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Being such a large and filthy facility, it will be a huge task to safely decommission, demolish and rehabilitate the site – a task that is expected to take several years. No doubt there will be some very cool demolition videos in the time ahead.<\/p>\n AGL’s vision for the site is a low-carbon integrated industrial energy hub.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve already received planning approval for a 500 megawatt\/2GWh grid-scale battery, and we\u2019re investigating the development of green hydrogen,” states the company. “This is just the beginning. We\u2019re also exploring other clean energy projects to support the site transition including wind developments, pumped hydro, solar generation, and green manufacturing.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
What Will Happen At The Liddell Site?<\/h2>\n