The tightrope walk to plug the renewables gap

The decommissioning of a coal-fired power station in my native Australia is currently big news.  Located in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, it supplied 10% of electricity to the state's power grid in times gone by.  Similar initiatives to reduce carbon emissions will potentially see another coal-fired station at Eraring close its gates in 2025. It reportedly produces nearly a quarter of New South Wales's electricity. Its closure would signal that this means of keeping the lights switched on in Australia's most populous state, is headed the way of the dinosaurs. Burning coal is ...