Australians forced to pay $60b for expensive “green” electricity

The Australian calculates the total bill will be in the order of $60b for green electricity.

It’s not like we could have done something better with that.

Read it all (if you can), then write to your MP and Senator. Ask why — if they are serious about helping reduce CO2 — we don’t have a USC coal plant like so many other countries, and why we don’t have nuclear power. Then ask why, if they are concerned about the poor, about health, about education, we are wasting $60b dollars to try to change the weather in 2100 that we could be spending on these critical areas right now?

The Australian, Adam Creighton

Taxpayers will have paid more than $60 billion through federal renewable energy subsidies by 2030, about twice what the crumbling car industry received over 15 years and enough to build about 10 large nuclear reactors.

The government’s large and small-scale renewable energy ­targets, which will compel energy retailers to buy 33 terawatt hours of wind, solar and hydro energy by 2030, will deliver about $45bn of subsidies to renewable energy producers over 20 years, according to analysis by The Australian.

If it’s improving and getting cheap, whatever you do, don’t buy it yet:

It’s hard to argue with ACIL Allen Consulting chief executive Paul Hyslop:

“Solar costs have probably fallen 75 to 80 per cent in the last six or seven years,” Mr Hyslop told the energy and environment committee. “If we had not done anything seven years ago and today we then did all those things, we could have … two to three times as much solar (energy generation) in roofs for the same amount of investment over that period.

“If you think that the cost of ­renewables and low-emission technology is falling rapidly, absolutely put it off for as long as possible.”

Australia — 30% of the worlds uranium reserves but no nuclear power:

Economist Geoffrey Carmody, a founder of Deloitte Access Economics:

“If we sweep nuclear energy off the table in favour of renewables, achieving these three conflicting objectives with one instrument — renewable energy — is numerical nonsense,” Mr Carmody said.

Australia is the only G20 country to have banned nuclear power.

Read it all….

PS: USC = Ultra super critical coal. Hot burning generators are so much more efficient. They cut emissions but without the pain of intermittent unreliable generators. Japan, China, India have lots of them.

If we started planning one now we might catch up in the advanced technology stakes with Indonesia.

The Australian Editorial: A fresh light on energy price and supply woes

Malcolm Turnbull cannot afford to fiddle around any longer before tackling Australia’s energy crisis. Handled well, the issue would be an election winner for the Coalition…

That [the $60b] is twice what our crumbling car industry received in the 15 years to 2012. It would build 10 large nuclear reactors, an option long dismissed by politicians as too expensive. Present policies provide an exorbitant taxpayer-funded windfall for renewable energy producers for little if any public benefit. However inefficient, car industry subsidies protected about 40,000 jobs. By comparison, 39 renewable energy projects under construction or being completed this year have created 4400 jobs, according to the Clean Energy Council.

We allowed a free market in gas, but didn’t allow one in coal generation.

If we had true free markets, we wouldn’t worry about high gas prices. We’d just profit from the high priced gas sales, and get cheap electricity from coal. We wouldn’t need so much gas if we didn’t have so many intermittent wind generators.

Turnbull seizes on admission Labor was warned on gas prices

Malcolm Turnbull has seized on energy spokesman Mark Butler’s admission that Labor was warned that customers would be hit with higher energy prices from the gas exports it authorised in government five years ago, blaming the Gillard government for the spike in gas prices which has seen energy bills rise dramatically.

Mr Turnbull said the Gillard government had made a “reckless” decision in allowing gas to be exported from the east coast of Australia without putting in any protection for Australian families, households and businesses.

The coalition is taking the wrong tack. Real free markets produce better cheaper outcomes. The problem is the regulations in the electricity market.

h/t Pat

Links: Front page of The Australian. The Australian digital print editions. (Probably paywalled).

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