What is it with deniers and ignorance ?
Hazelwood's end of life date was 2005. So, it was well past design date.
Even though it was closed early due to the Victorian government raising the coal royalties, it was always going to close in 2022.
In order for it to run for the last 5 years, Engie was going to spend over $200 million on safety upgrades. Because it had become so unsafe and unreliable, worksafe had stepped in and ordered Engie to do the upgrades if they wanted to continue.
It is a myth that these assets have such long lives. They have 24/7/365 operation and maintenance crews and have ongoing maintenance programs were everything from turbines, generators and switchgear are replaced on a regular basis.
In Hazelwood's case, the Morwell river had been realigned twice in order for more coal to be accessed.
So, if anything , they have a shorter life than a solar panel which sees no maintenance over it's entire life.
