The co-owner of Queensland’s biggest coal-fired power station in Gladstone has said it could close the plant in March 2029 – six years earlier than expected.
The power station – one of the least reliable in the national electricity market – is seen as a critical part of the region’s heavy industry, providing power to Rio Tinto’s own aluminium smelter, as well as alumina refineries and LNG and cement plants in the region.
Rio Tinto, the co-owner of Gladstone power station (GPS), said it had notified the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) “of the potential retirement” of Gladstone.
Aemo’s expected closure year of the power station was 2035.
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Rio Tinto said: “No final decision has been made to retire GPS, which has operated since 1976, and there i
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