Mr Horsfall (CCN 481) is not “all over the place”, he is firmly stuck in nuclear waste and so cannot see the all-renewable grid fantasy for what it is.
There is not a shred of evidence to support an all-renewable grid, only political hot air.
Some facts follow.
Real-world experience with large scale renewables (EU, Germany) … indicates that all-renewable grids are the most expensive sources of electricity, possibly ruinously so and are not fit for purpose.
In CCN Issue 481 John King points out that our electricity costs are increasing, and subsidies hide it.
The GenCost report has been torn to pieces by experts not beholden to government.
The Snowy 2.0 Project was given the go ahead on an estimate of $2B; by completion the cost will be $12B plus.
Mr Horsfall ignores the outcome of COP 28 where nuclear fission was accepted as a necessary part of the future and he is wrong to claim nuclear reactors are being shut down; rather they are being built.
Perhaps he has never heard of COP.
The indicative cost of Li-ion battery storage is 30,000 times more than that of coal, ruling it out to ever be economical on an electricity grid scale.
So much for battery backup.
Dispatchable nuclear fission and gas are the alternatives to coal.
Weather-dependent intermittents are merely an add on.
The myth that the green energy transition is inevitable and will make cheap electricity for everyone is one of the most dangerous self-delusions of the western world’s elites and their sheep-like followers.
The way forward is more well-directed and well-funded R&D, relying on the laws of nature rather than unfounded feel-good ideology.
Email, April 6
Charles Hemmings, Woy Woy
I should point out that electricity costs have been rising for a number of reasons, and the primary one (the Russia-Ukraine conflict) doesn’t have anything to do with renewables.
Electricity costs worldwide have spiked, as Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil and gas in the world. This been *very* well documented by a number of reputable sources, and is actually quite interesting (albeit depressing) to read about
Also, on renewables making electricity cheaper, keep in mind that the state with the most access to renewable energy (VIC) has seen the lowest rise in electricity bills in recent years. That could be a coincidence, but I wouldn’t want to write it off too quickly.
I’d suggest reading this article from the Grattan Institute (independent think tank in Melbourne). The short of it is, renewables won’t make everything cheaper right now because of all the infrastructure we have to build. But if we didn’t upgrade our infrastructure like this, we’d still see costs spike in the future due to the cost of retrofitting coal plants.
https://grattan.edu.au/news/we-are-on-the-right-path-to-net-zero/