Michelle Slater
AGL shareholders endorsed the company’s Climate Transition Action Plan which doubles-down on previously set dates to exit thermal coal by 2036.
AGL had urged shareholders to support the document at this morning’s Annual General Meeting, which outlines plans to close Loy Yang A by 2035.
The plan also includes cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent by 2024 and by 52 per cent by 2035.
AGL will allow shareholders to vote on the plan every three years which will allow for changes in views, technology, science, markets, investment and policy.
AGL chair Patricia McKenzie said the transition action plan represented one of the most “significant decarbonisation initiatives in Australia”.
“I am pleased AGL can now move forward and deliver on this clear pathway for the company’s future,” Ms McKenzie said.
“This means embracing the opportunities presented by the electrification of the economy, building new renewable and firming assets and providing products and services to help customers lower their emissions and reduce their energy bills.”
AGL interim chief executive Damien Nicks outlined plans for the company to transition its thermal coal plants to low-emissions energy hubs.
But he said the company’s coal generation volume for 2022 “remained broadly flat” largely due to planned and unplanned outages.
He said unit two at Loy Yang A was recently brought back to service, but this was the most extended of these outages.
“While these unplanned outages were disappointing, we continue to invest around one billion dollars per annum in capital and operational costs to maintain and run these key assets including actions to improve safety and availability,” Mr Nicks told shareholders this morning.
“Over the next 12 years these assets will continue to be an important part of the National Electricity Market supporting system stability and energy affordability.”
Mr Nicks said AGL was aiming to spend $20 billion on providing up to 12 gigawatts of renewables and firming capacity by 2036.
He said AGL already had 3.2 gigawatts of renewables and batteries underway, including grid scale batteries at each of its large sites.
