'Worst deal ever': Wollemi Capital's Matt Kean blasts Origin's Eraring pact
The former NSW Liberal treasurer was also critical of the federal opposition's nuclear energy plan.
Green investment firm Wollemi Capital's recent star hire Matt Kean has doubled down on his criticism of Origin Energy's deal with the NSW government to keep its coal-fired Eraring plant open and expressed confidence in the ability of renewable technologies to power Australia's energy future.
Addressing the Citi Investment Conference in Sydney, the Albanese government's top climate change adviser who is also a former Liberal NSW Treasurer described the agreement between Origin and the NSW state government to extend the lifespan of the Eraring plant beyond its previously planned 2026 closure as “the worst deal ever”.
He revealed that the option had been on the table when he was a minister, but that the government opted instead to bring forward development of the Waratah Super Battery.
Kean also said that when he was New South Wales Energy and Environment Minister from 2019 to 2021, he would receive calls from the head of the Australian Energy Markets Operator to warn him of impending power shortages on the electricity grid. “Whenever Daniel Westerman called to ask me to help reduce demand on the power grid, it was because there was an issue with the coal-fired power stations [that was causing the shortages]. It was never about the renewables [that help power the NSW electricity grid].”
