One Nation promises to build new coal plants and sweat old ones in energy policy pitch to state voters - Renew Economy

One Nation has announced an energy policy that calls for building new coal-fired power stations and extending the operational life of existing coal plants. The policy, pitched to state voters, frames coal as a solution to energy costs and reliability. No costings, timeline, or specific plant locations are detailed in the article.

Where this fits

This touches on the core Energy Realism claim: that firm dispatchable power is non-negotiable for grid stability and affordability. Coal plants run baseload and respond to demand swings without the storage and transmission costs that renewables require. However, the policy does not address the economic case for coal versus other firm sources. New coal construction faces high capital costs, long lead times, stranded-asset risk as the grid evolves, and the fact that existing coal plants are already shedding capacity across the country. The pitch reflects voter concern about energy prices and blackout risk, but a credible policy would cost these trade-offs explicitly.

What it means

Voters are signalling anxiety about grid reliability and cost. That anxiety is real. But a policy promising new coal without addressing financing, timescale, or the economics of retirement creates a false choice. Australia needs firm power; the question is what mix of coal, gas, and nuclear is least-cost over the decade ahead, given capital costs, fuel prices, land use, and the time to deploy. A mature energy debate would compare these options transparently rather than promise a single technology as a cure.