As the owner of Australia's biggest coal plant locks in a closing date, others are ramping up

As Australians absorbed the news that the country's biggest power station was set to close by 2025 – seven years earlier than anticipated – the death of coal seemed writ large. Key points: Millions of dollars are being spent in upgrades to prolong the lives of some Australian coal-fired power stations The spending comes despite the closure and planned exit of major coal plants like Origin's Eraring There are forecasts the last coal-fired generator in the national electricity market will shut by 2043 The decision by Origin to shutter the giant, 2880-megawatt Eraring plant follows the exit of Hazelwood power station in Victoria in 2017 and plans or expectations that other big coal-fired units in New South Wales will go within a few years. Energy expert Tony Wood, from the non-aligned Grattan Institute, said the mixed bag of decisions on coal plants in Australia reflected the lack of a plan to deal with the massive changes already underway. "Governments have become concerned about having enough capacity in the electricity market to deal with the intermittency of renewable energy," Mr Wood said. Matt Rennie, who helped found energy consultancy Rennie Partners, said the economic viability of coal power was one thing, but governments also had to consider the social costs of closing plants down.