Matt Kean in fossil fuel swipe as coal powers NSW through heatwave

Energy Minister launches renewables-inspired tirade at ‘coal barons’ despite sector supplying more than 80 per cent of NSW’s power needs during weekend heatwave.

Coal supplied more than 80 per cent of the state’s power needs at times during the sweltering weekend heatwave, even as Energy Minister Matt Kean talked down the fossil fuel industry.

His own colleagues are now raising concerns the renewable energy campaigner has gone too far in declaring victory over the “vested interests” of “coal barons.”

Mr Kean made the comments yesterday on Twitter, following the passage last week of legislation he says will attract tens of billions of dollars of renewables investment, create jobs and push power prices down.

Crowds flocked to Bondi as the extreme heatwave took its toll on the city.

Mr Kean likened coal-fired power generators complaining about renewable energy to “Blockbuster complaining about Netflix”.

The remarks came as energy companies relied on coal to keep millions of NSW residents cool during record-breaking temperatures.

Coal is also forecast to deliver $1.4 billion in royalties to the government this year.

The sweltering weekend saw huge demand on the NSW energy grid, reaching peaks of almost 13,000 megawatts yesterday afternoon.

That compares to more mild conditions the previous Sunday when demand peaked at 8800 megawatts.

An out-of-control bushfire at Northmead had to be waterbombed during the extreme conditions.

The majority of energy used in NSW was generated by coal – 54 per cent during peak demand.

Renewables including rooftop solar provided some power during the day, but when the sun wasn’t shining, the share of energy generated by coal increased. At 8pm on Saturday, 75 per cent of the state’s energy demand was serviced by coal.

environment and Energy Minister Matt Kean is launching a new climate change report at the left- leaning think tank The Australia Institute

In the early hours of Saturday, coal accounted for more than 80 per cent of energy generation.

Following the passage of new laws to boost renewable power last week, Mr Kean declared he had wrested control from “those powerful vested interests — the big energy money, the coal barons, that have ­decided energy policy in this country for generations”. But those comments drew criticism from within the state ­government.

“Maybe he should know that the coal industry employs tens of thousands of Australians,” one government MP said.

Another said Mr Kean’s comments were “unhelpful,” suggesting the policy didn’t face proper scrutiny in the Coalition party room.

Federal Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon said the energy industry has more “vested interests” than coal-fired power producers.

Joel Fitzgibbon. Picture: NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Matt Kean talks about vested interests — he surely knows there are no shortage of them in the renewables sector,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“(He) has not only demonstrated he’s an idealist rather than a realist, he is now gloating about a premature victory over those who are arguing for no more than job security and energy reliability.”

He blamed the Commonwealth for showing“no leadership” on energy policy.

“State activism and inefficient intervention is what you can expect when you have no leadership in Canberra,” he said.

Mr Kean said the policy won’t bring about the early closure of coal power stations, but deals with the reality that those power stations “are closing anyway”.

Energy companies have previously raised concerns about the NSW legislation.

Earlier this month the Australian Energy Council issued a statement asking whether the legislation represents a “path to the promised land — or a highway to hell”.

Originally published as Matt Kean in fossil fuel swipe as coal powers NSW through heatwave