However, Sembcorp, whose major shareholder is the Singaporean governmentโs investment fund Temasek, on Friday said Loy Yang B remained an important asset in Alintaโs portfolio and signalled no plan to revise its closure date. โWe believe itโs important to strike a balance between affordability and security and decarbonisation,โ Tan said.
With more than half of eastern Australiaโs remaining coal-fired power stations scheduled to close within 10 years, officials and experts are worried that the rollout of new generators, storage assets and powerlines is lagging the speed needed to keep electricity supply and prices steady through the transition, and are calling on the private sector for an urgent lift in investment.
Alinta chief executive Jeff Dimery, who will remain in the role, said that having access to Sembcorpโs global industry expertise and strong balance sheet would help drive a necessary uplift in renewable energy and battery installations.
โThere is lots of excitement from our end for what the future holds,โ he said.
โWhat the Australian government and community want to hear is not what we are going to close, itโs what we are going to open and what we are going to bring to the grid to help drive down the cost of energy and secure the reliability of the system.โ
The sale of Alinta comes as its current owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, has been looking to sell off some assets around the world.
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises has invested $1.1 billion of cashflow back into Alinta since it bought the company in 2017. Over that time, it has driven significant increases to Alintaโs underlying earnings, electricity generation capacity and customer base.
The sale of Alinta, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
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