Costly Coal Profits Plummet
Today, government auditors have announced a plummet in the profits of Queensland’s polluting coal fired power generators.
With a $1.5 Billion decrease in profits across the state’s energy entities this represents a staggering 88% decline – the vast majority of which is due to coal fired power generators and their decreasing value. Stanwell and CS Energy have announced a decrease in value of their coal fired power stations by 19% and 15% respectively.
Meanwhile, well over $1 billion AUD will be spent on maintaining and updating the six government owned/controlled coal stations over the next 5 years, according to the Capital Program 2020 update.
With the Queensland Government currently throwing tens of millions at existing coal power stations just to keep them functional, and a class action being taken against the State owned coal power companies for pricing irregularities – the situation would be comical if it wasn’t so disastrous for Queenslanders.
“Renewable energy is our future – not dirty coal.” says Queensland Conservation Council’s Climate and Energy Campaigner, Claire Fryer. “Queenslanders need to know; what is the government’s plan to replace these expensive coal generators with cheap, clean 100% renewable energy?”
“If this government fails to commit to a plan for an early phase out of these polluting power stations, they will be letting down the communities that currently rely on this futureless industry. Not to mention the disaster it will spell for our environment.”