Keeping Callide open is flogging a dead horse

The Queensland Conservation Council has slammed the Crisafulli Government's plans to keep the State's ageing coal-fired power stations on life support past their scheduled retirement dates, as news broke today that the April explosion at the Callide coal-fired power station was a result of prioritising energy production over risk management.

The Callide power station is part owned by the Crisafulli Government.

QCC Senior Renewables Campaigner Stephanie Gray said

Today's report findings (PDF 9.4mb) cast serious doubt about the Crisafulli Government’s plans to pump hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into keeping our ageing coal-fired power stations on life support past their scheduled retirement dates.

You can't flog a dead horse. Queensland's coal power stations were offline a staggering 78 times over the last summer period because they're old and keep breaking down.

If the Crisafulli Government keeps pushing these coal clunkers past their scheduled end of life we're going to see more breakdowns, more outages, and more price spikes for Queensland consumers.

The practical thing for Queensland's Energy Minister, David Janetzki, to do now is plan for the replacement of Queensland's ageing coal power stations with renewable energy backed by storage.

The State Government needs to be upfront about when the state-owned coal-fired power stations will close to provide workers and local communities with certainty, and make sure new opportunities are being created locally to transition the workforce.

Our research found that keeping Callide B open past 2028, the end of its technical life, would cost up to $420 million a year. Queenslanders can’t afford for the Crisafulli Government to put ideology over getting on with the practical transformation of our energy system.

CS Energy’s annual reports show that Callide B appears to have recorded a real loss of $120 million over the last five years, costing taxpayers an average of $24 million per year.

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