AGL will close Victoria’s coal-fired power station Loy Yang A a decade early

Together with Loy Yang B, the coal-fired power station supplies about 30% of Victoria’s electricity; Loy Yang is Australia’s biggest single carbon polluting plant. Photograph: Andrew Chapman/The Guardian

AGL Energy will shut down Australia’s biggest single carbon polluting power plant a decade earlier than planned, changing the closure date of its coal-fired Loy Yang A power station in Victoria from 2045 to 2035.

The company, Australia’s biggest electricity generator and polluter, is accelerating its exit from coal, according to a plan released to the stock exchange on Thursday. The strategy details its transition to renewable energy after opposition from its largest shareholder, billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, forced it in May to ditch plans to demerge.