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RPT-Engie says sale of Australian Hazelwood plant unlikely

Published 27/10/2016, 08:20 am
RPT-Engie says sale of Australian Hazelwood plant unlikely
ENGIE
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(Repeats story from overnight, no changes to text)

* Decision on Engie's giant coal-fired plant coming soon

* Engie looks at cost of remediation and decommissioning

* Talks on security of supply with Australian energy minister

By Geert De Clercq

PARIS, Oct 26 (Reuters) - French utility Engie ENGIE.PA will decide soon on what to do with its Australian Hazelwood coal-fired power plant, but a sale is looking unlikely, its CEO Isabelle Kocher said on Wednesday.

Kocher said in May Engie was considering the closure or sale of Hazelwood as part of its move away from operating any coal-fired plants. Environmental organisations say the 1.5 gigawatt plant - which produces 5.4 percent of Australia's power - is one of the world's most polluting power stations. are reviewing all the coal-fired power plants in our portfolio one by one. There are some sites for which we will find buyers, but it does not look like Hazelwood is heading that way," Kocher told reporters in reply to questions.

She declined to comment on a possible cost estimate for closing the facility, but said Engie is looking at all scenarios for remediation and decommissioning.

Kocher said that since start of the year, one third of Engie's coal capacity has been sold or closed.

"That leaves us with two thirds. We have not yet taken a decision on Hazelwood but this is coming soon," she said ahead of a meeting with Australian environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg in Paris.

Frydenberg is expected to meet with Engie and smaller French green energy producer Neoen amid various inquiries in Australia into what led to a state-wide blackout in South Australia last month. wind farm in South Australia was one of several that automatically shut down when transmission lines fell over in South Australia in September.

Frydenberg is also looking at how to improve power supply security and reliability while moving toward cleaner power.

In July, Engie was forced to restart its mothballed Pelican Point gas-fired power station in South Australia in order to help shore up power supplies.

An Engie spokeswoman said Engie had re-started Pelican Point for commercial reasons, based on market conditions, and that it had not been paid by the government to bring the plant on.

She added that the operation of Pelican Point will continue to be dependent on market conditions.

Kocher said Engie has several renewable energy projects as well as a pilot project for storing power with hydrogen in Australia, where the firm now has half a million retail clients.

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