Hunter Valley의 Liddell 발전소가 호주에서 가장 오래된 석탄 화력 발전소의 시대를 마감하며 문을 닫습니다.

Liddell Power Station에서 마지막으로 가동 중인 터빈의 전원이 꺼지면서 NSW Hunter Valley에서 52년 동안 전기를 생산해 온 유산이 끝났습니다.

마지막 장치는 오늘 아침 일찍 꺼졌지만 오전 10시 30분에 완전히 회전을 멈추기까지 몇 시간이 걸렸습니다.

폐쇄가 에너지 공급 문제를 촉발할 것이라는 우려에도 불구하고 전문가들은 폐쇄가 그리드에 거의 영향을 미치지 않을 것이라고 말했습니다.

Muswellbrook에서 태어나고 자란 Paul Benkovic은 1979년 “mighty Liddell”에서 기계 수리공으로 일을 시작했고 그의 아들들이 그 뒤를 따랐습니다.

“너무 많은 아이들이 그곳을 거쳐 직업을 얻었고, 기술을 배웠고, 그들이 여전히 그곳에 있든 이사를 갔든 그것은 지역 사회에 도움이 되었습니다.”라고 그는 말했습니다.

Mr Benkovic은 Liddel과 연결되어 있는 수많은 현지인들에게 향수를 불러일으키는 시간이었다고 말했습니다.

미래의 어느 시점에서 당신이 저쪽을 보면 그곳에는 아무것도 없을 것이기 때문에 서운할 것”이라고 말했다.

“그 전체 경험의 일부가 된 것이 너무 좋았습니다. 그것이 저에게 준 것과 어느 시점에서 우리 커뮤니티의 모든 사람에게 준 것에 대해 충분히 말할 수 없습니다.”

은퇴한 간호사 Geraldine Griffen은 Liddell에서 10년을 보냈으며 그녀의 직장 생활 중 최고의 시기라고 말했습니다.

“밤에는 호수에 떠 있는 배처럼 보입니다. 정말 좋아요.”라고 그녀는 말했습니다.

Ms Griffen은 Liddell의 건강과 안전이 시대를 훨씬 앞서 있지만 그녀는 여전히 컨베이어 벨트 사고에서 까치 공격에 이르기까지 심각한 부상을 입는 경향이 있다고 말했습니다.

그녀는 “그들이 안전모를 쓰지 않으면 까치들이 급습하는 것 같았습니다. 저는 몇 마리 가지고 있었습니다.”라고 말했습니다.

AGL은 Liddell이 수명 기간 동안 평균 100만 가구 이상에 충분한 전기를 공급했다고 말했습니다.

Griffen 씨는 “가는 것이 슬프지만 오래되어 휴식이 필요합니다.”라고 말했습니다.

‘오랜만에 계획’
AGL CEO인 Damien Nicks는 Liddell이 평생 동안 중요한 역할을 했으며 회사는 이 사이트를 산업 재생 에너지 허브로 용도 변경하게 되어 기쁘다고 말했습니다.

“거의 52년이 지난 지금은 안전하고 안정적으로 Liddell을 은퇴할 때입니다.”라고 그는 말했습니다.

“그것은 우리 직원들에 관한 것입니다. 기여를 축하하고 또한 Liddell이 이 주, 이 커뮤니티 및 직원들에게 어떤 의미가 있었는지 반영합니다.”

Liddell 인력의 절반은 AGL의 인근 Bayswater 발전소로 이전하고 3분의 1은 은퇴했으며 10명 중 1명은 새로운 것을 시도할 것입니다.

Bayswater-Liddell 총지배인 Len McLachlan은 “분명히 복합적인 감정이 있습니다. 중요한 자산이지만 [직원]도 이것이 실제로 발생해야 한다는 것을 이해하고 있습니다. 우리는 오랫동안 이를 계획해 왔습니다.”라고 말했습니다.

Liddell 발전소가 서비스를 중단함에 따라 당사의 특별 보도를 따르십시오.

Hunter Community Environment Center의 Jo Lynch는 폐쇄를 환영했습니다.

“그것은 오염이 심한 시설이고 그 폐쇄는 환경적 관점에서 좋은 일입니다.”라고 그녀는 말했습니다.

“모든 사람의 삶의 질은 우리 생태계의 건강에 달려 있으며 발전소의 폐쇄는 근로자를 돌보는 한 발전소를 청소하고 삶의 질을 향상시킬 수 있는 엄청난 기회를 나타냅니다.

The last running turbine at the Liddell Power Station has powered down, marking the end of a 52-year legacy of generating electricity in the NSW Hunter Valley.

Key points:

Liddell’s final unit has powered down today in a “sad” moment for former employees
The power station produced enough energy over its 52-year life to power all of NSW for 6.5 years
The site will be repurposed as an industrial renewable hub

The final unit was switched off earlier this morning but took several hours before it completely stopped spinning at 10:30am.

Despite fears the closure would trigger energy supply issues, experts have said the closure will have little impact on the grid.

Born and bred in Muswellbrook, Paul Benkovic started at “mighty Liddell” in 1979 as a mechanical fitter and his electrician sons followed suit.

“So many kids have gone through there and gained employment, learnt their skills and whether they’re still there or moved on, it’s benefited the community,” he said.

Mr Benkovic said it was a nostalgic time for countless locals with connections to Liddell.

An older man wearing glasses sits in a room with books, at a table with an open book on it. — Paul Benkovic spent 17 years at Liddell and says the community will remember it fondly.(ABC Upper Hunter: Cecilia Connell)

The legacy of Old Lady Liddell

It’s the end of an era. The Grand Old Lady of Australian power supply, the Liddell thermal power station just outside Muswellbrook, is shutting down after over half a century of service.

“I’ll be sad because at some point in the future, you’ll look over there and there’ll be nothing there,” he said.

“It was so good to be a part of that whole experience. I can’t speak highly enough of what it gave me and what it gave everyone in our community at some point.”

Retired nurse Geraldine Griffen spent a decade working at Liddell and said they were the best years of her working life.

“At night time it looks like a ship sitting on the lake. I love it,” she said.

An older women wearing glasses and black and white spotted scarf smiles for a portrait. — Geraldine Griffen worked as a nurse at Liddell for 10 years.(ABC Upper Hunter: Bindi Bryce)

Little impact on energy supply, but what about the people?

As Liddell powers down in the New South Wales Upper Hunter Valley after more than half a century, what’s next for the community?

A man with glasses, next to a woman smiling, a man in a hat and blue shirt, and another woman in a high vis vest.

Ms Griffen said Liddell’s health and safety was well ahead of its time, but she still tended to some nasty injuries – from conveyor belt accidents to magpie attacks.

“Unless they had their hard-hat on, the magpies would sort of swoop down — I had a few of them,” she said.

AGL said Liddell supplied enough electricity for more than one million homes, on average, over its lifespan.

“I’m sad it’s going but it’s old and it needs a rest,” Ms Griffen said.

Hear the local community share their memories as well as their hopes and fears for the future.

Green energy puts coal, gas in the shadows

Fossil fuel-fired energy output hits record low levels in Australia’s biggest electricity grid, triggering large falls in power prices spurred on by extraordinary growth in green energy.

The sun shining on solar panels at the Warwick solar farm.

‘Planning for a long time’

AGL chief executive Damien Nicks said Liddell had played a critical role during its lifetime and the company was excited to repurpose the site into an industrial renewable energy hub.

“After almost 52 years, it is time to retire Liddell from service, both safely and reliably,” he said.

“It’s all about our employees, celebrating both the contribution and also reflecting on what Liddell has meant to this state, to this community and to its employees.”

Half the Liddell workforce will move to AGL’s nearby Bayswater Power Station, a third have retired and about one in ten will try something new.

“[There are] mixed feelings obviously — it’s an important asset but [staff] also understand that this actually has to take place, we’ve been planning it for a long time,” Bayswater-Liddell general manager Len McLachlan said.

Follow our special coverage as Liddell Power Station retires from service.

Jo Lynch from the Hunter Community Environment Centre welcomed the closure.

“It’s a highly polluting facility and its closure is a good thing from an environmental perspective,” she said.

“The quality of life for everyone is bound up in the health of our eco-systems, and the closure of power stations — as long as workers are looked after — represents a massive opportunity to clean up the place and improve our quality of life.”

A woman with long brown hair and a fringe smiles for the camera in a leafy green setting. — Environmentalist Jo Lynch will be following the site’s rehabilitation.(ABC Upper Hunter: Keely Johnson)

Fight over offshore wind consultation

Public submissions on a proposal to create an offshore wind zone between Norah Head and Port Stephens close today, despite the community calling for more time.

AGL plans to transform the site into a renewable energy hub.

“It’s a really unique opportunity. There’s fantastic infrastructure at the site from road, rail, water, and a fantastic skilled workforce that live locally,” said the program director of site transition, Brad Williams.

“So there’s ample opportunities here moving forward whether that be for a battery, hydrogen development, agriculture development, etcetera.”