Hazelwood unlikely to be sold

French utility Engie, owner of the Hazelwood power station in the La Trobe Valley, has indicated a sale of the station is unlikely.

Engie is yet to make a decision about the future of Hazelwood, but is currently reviewing all their coal-fired power plants in their portfolio, and in this year alone, one-third of their coal capacity has been sold or closed.

“There are some sites for which we will find buyers, but it does not look like Hazelwood is heading that way,” Engie CEO Isabelle Kocher said.

Ms Kocher did not give a cost estimate for closing Hazelwood, but said Engie is looking at all scenarios for remediation and decommissioning.

Ms Kocher will be meeting with Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg in Paris in the coming weeks to discuss the energy situation in South Australia.

Engie was forced to restart Pelican Point gas-fired power station in South Australia in July, to help shore up energy supplies.

Hazelwood produces 12,000 GWh of energy each year, 25 per cent of Victoria’s energy requirements. It uses 15.3 million tonnes of coal from the adjacent mine, which covers 3550 hectares.

Previous articleCity of Sydney using trigeneration energy
Next articleSAPN appeal to increase transmission costs rejected