Australia’s oldest coal-fired power plant was shuttered Friday, as the country—a once-notorious climate straggler—prepares for a seismic shift towards renewable energy.
The Liddell power station, a three-hour drive north of Sydney, was one in a series of aging coal-fired plants slated to close in the coming years.
Built in 1971, Liddell provided about 10 percent of the electricity used in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state.
Liddell’s owner AGL said it would take about two years to demolish the hulking facility, which would free up the site for new clean energy projects such as a hydrogen power plant.
