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Article

28 Mar 2017

Author:
Gay Alcorn, Guardian (UK)

Australia: Coal workers raise concerns about lack of planning by govts. & companies to protect their livelihoods in transition away from coal

[T]he Hazelwood power station will close after 52 years...Most of the workforce will be gone too. Whatever the international urgency of climate change and the imperative to move away from burning coal, and whatever the confusion around energy policy in Canberra, and whatever the real reasons for Hazelwood’s owners in France and Japan announcing the plant’s closure five months ago, there is sadness in the valley. There’s a bittersweet nostalgia for a way of life passing, and a fear about what’s to come...[A Hazelwood worker] Sumner is aware of the argument that coal-fired power stations will inevitably close as a result of climate change, and he doesn’t dismiss it. “Look I care, I definitely care. I don’t disagree eventually Hazelwood should have been closed down, but it shouldn’t be closed down without replacing it. “Without Hazelwood, it’s been made pretty clear that the stability of the electricity market or grid really isn’t going to be very secure. There’s been no planning.” That’s a common view. Coal-fired power stations, especially the old ones, are going to close, so why hasn’t this been planned for? Why react when they fall over? People in the valley feel they are paying the price for politics and the lack of clear policy...O’Callaghan says the council knew last year that Hazelwood’s closure was imminent, but governments, state and federal, didn’t respond in a serious way until it was announced...Engie, majority owned by the French government, is getting out of coal across the globe. It doesn’t see a future in it, and will concentrate on renewable energy instead...