AEMO has just blown out the cost of Australia's Net Zero grid to $128 billion and now says coal must run until 2049 to keep the lights on.
Wind forecasts for 2030 have been slashed from 42.6 GW to 26 GW, with offshore wind now admitted to cost 40% more and deliver far less power.
Transmission, the backbone of Net Zero, has been slashed from 10,000 km to 6,000 km after cancellations and cost blowouts of up to 100%.
Coal remains indispensable, says AEMO, and the country's fleet must run 11 years longer than previously promised to stop blackouts and cover stalled renewable build-out.
Reliability risks are also rising. Aging coal is being driven past design limits and a failure at any major plant could destabilize the grid.
Gas becomes the strategic backup when solar collapses at dusk and during multi-day wind lulls - the exact conditions that already triggered emergency warnings this year.
Every pillar of the plan: wind, transmission, timelines, costs, has been revised, delayed or downsized.
Net Zero didn't replace coal.
It extended it to 2049 (and likely far beyond).