Our land of sweeping plains is lucky enough to have some of the best energy resources in the entire world.
We’ve got everything: Wind blowing a gale along the Roaring Forties of the southern coastline, sun and surf that make our beaches a tourist drawcard.
But despite these natural advantages power prices have more than doubled in a decade. As old generators have steadily closed over the past decade, we haven’t invested in enough new generation to replace it.
We have energy resources in abundance, but are we actually smart enough to be the lucky country?
With the majority of Australians backing renewable energy, Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten don’t need a weathervane to know which way the wind is blowing. At the moment it is at our backs.
Investment confidence has finally returned to the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and it is doing what it is supposed to do – delivering new renewables at the lowest possible cost.
But what comes next after a decade of the climate wars?
Many captains of industry are talking about the importance of certainty to rein them in again.
We are lucky that the Finkel review has given us another chance at lasting bipartisanship and enduring energy policy.
The Coalition party room has had the smarts to give in-principle support to 49 of the 50 energy market reforms proposed by Dr Alan Finkel.
It’s time to be practical, not political. Back the Finkel recommendations in full, and give us the green light to solve this problem and take Australia into the future.
Kane we are smart enough, but the coalalition?
Who is we? You and I? The forum participants? The readers of RenewEconomy? Never forget: these clowns are in power, because the majority ‘we’ voted for them!
Max, as much as ‘we’ think renewables are the single most important item on the political agenda, I don’t think others do or even should consider renewables in such a way.
We do have to factor price in the argument.
We still need jobs remember.
AUS needs to have an LNG export tax and give every poor voter a $900 annual cheque.
New Zealand has had 85+% renewable energy for the last 30 years, but lacks the intelligence to realise what an opportunity what a 100% renewable and low-carbon future represents.
You can be very lucky, and squander it.
I think the New Zealanders might have better memories than you George. Do you recall the drought of about 2002 when hydro from the south island dried up?
And the wind stopped blowing that year too? (No, it didn’t). New Zealand diversified a little, but it did so in a really dumb way.
Seems most people haven’t read Lucky Country. Real meaning is we were lucky to survive the incompetence of politicians of the day, even more true with current pretenders
It’s all about the commercialisation of Christmas. We have to sell all our natural resources so that we can buy our trinkets. We won’t or can’t make our own. Of course we have to sell all our gas and coal, uranium, lithium,gold,copper,titanium,aluminium, iron ore , university education, land, companies, utilities, we need to buy plastic goodies, clothes, Californian oranges, and grapes, refined petrol, cars. The only point about being lucky is that you don’t have to work or think for yourself. No effort in luck, why do so many billionaires give away their fortunes so that their children have to find their own way? Too much of the lucky country makes people soft. Why are migrants useful, they somehow have vigour to contribute to the economy more than native-borns.
I don’t understand,
If wind and solar with storage are so much cheaper.
Why do we need or have to wait for a RET or CET or carbon tax.
Why can’t they just be built ?
The pressure of corruption exercised by vested interests – on our voters, politicians, regulators, businesses. Simple: Fear breeds greed and cultivates ignorance. Our “leadership” is re-spelled “leadershit”. Courage to change is not cheap, but extremely satisfying when sought & exercised, but the idea is hard to sell to people who live on virtual outcomes generated by “isms”, etc., from media outlets ruled by vested interests. And around in circles it goes …
If it was cheaper companies would be rushing to it.
The waiting for a subsidise system shouldn’t be needed if they truely are cheaper.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/547753c45550c8c3990d58c0076ac1ec4e5108124e00cacdf21974db5b296f08.jpg
I am using stand alone solar – it is so much cheaper, there is no relationship between off grid and grid fossil fuel power that would explain the stupidity of people not using it other than vested financial interests and ignorance. My oldest panel is 40 years old and still produces most of the 40 Watt it was rated on in full sunlight. Modern panels are far more efficient. Battery storage at home is easy – and if we do not act quickly and effectively, we’ll have a low quality of life for a short while before the shit hits the fan in the next few generations.
Well you ought to know how much energy storage will be needed before you confidently estimate how much it will cost for 100% renewable energy.
The recent hype over South Australia’s Telsa (100MW / 100 MWh) battery is misleading some to think that that “biggest ever” battery is “big enough”. Well no, actually, it is not, not even for the 315 MW Neoen wind farm it is paired with,
http://scottish.scienceontheweb.net/Wind%20power%20storage%20back-up%20calculator.htm?wind=315 (about 1575MWh energy storage needed for a 315 MW wind capacity)
never mind South Australia’s 1,600 MW wind capacity.
http://scottish.scienceontheweb.net/Wind%20power%20storage%20back-up%20calculator.htm?wind=1600 (about 8000MWh energy storage needed for a 1600 wind capacity)
Wind, storage and back-up system designer
http://scottish.scienceontheweb.net/Wind%20power%20storage%20back-up%20calculator.htm
Peak demand, wind and back-up power / energy storage capacity calculator
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19ab4e3e61f010b6f2f21a43e6d769d9480cda614acec5c772ed490fae2672ae.jpg
For the specification and design of renewable energy electricity generation systems which successfully smooth intermittent wind generation to serve customer demand, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks a year.
Adopting the recommendation derived from scientific computer modelling that the energy storage capacity be about 5 hours times the wind power capacity, the tables offer rows of previously successful modelled system configurations – row A, a configuration with no back-up power and rows B to F offering alternative ratios of wind power to back-up power. Columns consist of adjustable power and energy values in proportion to fixed multiplier factors.
Scottish Scientist
Independent Scientific Adviser for Scotland
https://scottishscientist.wordpress.com/
* Wind, storage and back-up system designer
* Double Tidal Lagoon Baseload Scheme
* Off-Shore Electricity from Wind, Solar and Hydrogen Power
* World’s biggest-ever pumped-storage hydro-scheme, for Scotland?
* Modelling of wind and pumped-storage power
* Scotland Electricity Generation – my plan for 2020
* South America – GREAT for Renewable Energy
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