AGL to spend $6.9 billion in shift to renewables from coal

BLOOMBERG

AGL Energy Ltd said it would massively expand its production of clean energy as it abandons coal-fired power plants.
The company will spend as much as A$10 billion ($6.9 billion) of its own money to build new facilities, including with debt-financing, Chief Financial Officer Gary Brown said.
The Australian coal giant, which came under attack from billionaire climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes last year, plans to shut all its coal plants by 2035 and replace them with 12 gigawatts of additional renewable capacity and storage.
That new energy — the equivalent of five large coal plants — will include wind and solar farms, grid-scale batteries and other storage infrastructure, and could also include some back-up gas plants.
“Coal is leaving the market. That means we have to replace those assets,” said AGL CEO Damien Nicks. “The system is tight,” he said, “but I do not believe the lights will go out.”
The A$10 billion will fund about half of the planned 12 gigawatts. The rest — which the company did not put a dollar figure on — will come from third parties, including joint ventures with “renowned renewable asset developers” and power purchase agreements, Brown said.
Australia is undergoing one of the world’s most rapid shifts from coal to renewables. The nation currently relies on the fuel for well over 50% of its electricity, but could be almost entirely powered by wind, solar and zero carbon storage by the end of next decade, according to official estimates.