Back in 2015, SOE Genesis Energy committed to shutting down the last two coal-fired units at its Huntly power-plant by December 2018. Of course, they lied:
Genesis Energy has pledged to stop using coal to generate electricity except in exceptional circumstances by 2025.
And it will stop using coal entirely by 2030.
The company has been criticised for using coal to generate electricity at its Huntly power plants because coal produces far more greenhouse gas emissions per therm of energy than gas does.
Of course, there's no mention that this is a repudiation of their 2015 promise, and one which will cause significant damage to the climate. And while they complain a lot about "security of supply", as Greenpeace points out, there are over 3 GW of renewable generation already consented (up to 850 of it by Genesis in one wind farm). But that stuff isn't being built because Genesis is still flooding the market by burning dirty coal in its hugely inefficient 70's-era power station.
If we are to meet our renewable energy targets and save the climate, we need to stop burning coal. And that means shutting down Huntly - permanently.
