Essay by Eric Worrall
Aussie Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is confident the grid will remain reliable as dispatchable generators are decommissioned, despite official reports which warn there are big problems.
Chris Bowen responds to AEMO report that predicts energy shortfalls if not enough investment
By ELLEN RANSLEYFEDERAL POLITICS REPORTER @RansleyEllen
NCA NEWSWIRE
9:55AM FEBRUARY 21, 2023Chris Bowen has sought to allay fears the east coast could exceed its energy capacity by the end of the decade.
The Australian Energy Market Operator on Tuesday released an updated Electricity Statement of Opportunities report that warned of electricity supply shortages if renewable projects lagged behind the closure of fossil fuel plants.
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“Urgent and ongoing investment in renewable energy, long-duration storage and transmission is needed to reliably meet demand from Australian homes and businesses.”
But the Energy Minister is optimistic the government is working fast to ensure there is clean, reliable energy available to fill the gaps left by retiring coal fire stations.
“AEMO is correctly pointing out that there is still much, much more work to do,” Mr Bowen told ABC Radio.
“I mean, in nine months have we fixed every single reliability gap for the next decade? No, there’s more work to do.
“Am I pleased with what we’ve done? Yes. Am I yet satisfied? No.”
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Read more: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/chris-bowen-responds-to-aemo-report-that-predicts-energy-shortfalls-if-not-enough-investment/news-story/23c45b4b2de359af5a4d01c6a2c122a3
The animated image at the top of the page was excerpted from the following video, in which Chris Bowen explains we can store electricity like water.
The Australian Energy Market Operator warning which triggered this response is available here.
According to Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood, responding to the AEMO warning, “What they are trying to say is they need gas“.
It is obvious to anyone with a grasp of the issues, that renewables and batteries haven’t got a hope of replacing decommissioned coal power plants, on anything like the required timescale.
In my opinion, betting on gas plants to be ready on time to replace the soon to be decommissioned coal plants, while slightly saner than betting on renewables, is still a wildly optimistic position. Australia is not a place where construction happens quickly, especially when construction companies which drag their feet would be in a position to extort large hurry up payments from the government.
Even if the gas plants were constructed in time, where would the gas come from? Gas shortages on the East Coast of Australia are a major issue, thanks to government hostility to fracking.
What can I say? There is a reason I have a big backup generator, and a large, legally maintained private supply of fuel.
All the handwaving in the world is not going to save the Aussie electric grid, if Bowen and his fellow travellers don’t start listening to people who can talk intelligently about the engineering issues, instead of leaping to dismiss concerns with meaningless platitudes.
Another day – another gormless moron.
I hope that the day of judgement comes soon enough to make this guy and his fellow deluded chumps pay for their incompetence!
The LUNATICS can wave their arms and pound the table all they want, but they are, and will remain, IDIOTS
Here are some statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly Consumer Price Index. They compare how all items have increased in price for most Australians, with how the price of electricity has increased, both since 1980.
Note the jumps at 2008 when politicians decided to go Wind&Solar, 2011 when the prices started to be easily recognised as excessive and 2022 as the electricity price headed for the stratosphere.
Blind Freddie can see how we have to scrap W&S and steadily go back to the global cheapest and most reliable fossil fuel generation of pre-2008. Now.
Geoff S
http://www.geoffstuff.com/cpi2022.jpg
It’s hard to comprehend how the pioneering history and
spirit of Australia has become a land of idiot climate alarmist & renewable energy advocate incompetence and stupidity. Their political “leaders” are pathetic. Time to leave to a place where freedom can flourish until the present socialists are overrun and driven from the country that their schemes have destroyed.
Any place in mind?
Larry,
You are spot on.
The long time image of the irreverent Aussie larrakin man has been replaced by limp-wristed soy boys of average IQ of 50 or so, incapable of changing a car tyre.
No thanks to the power of relentless advertising.
I used to think that broadly, our movers and shakers were largely of right wing inclination, with mainly leftists in the growing bureaucracy. These days, I think the classes are more like straight men in the right wing and queers in the bureaucracy.
As for our females, witness the growth of the shrieking harradin class getting vocal in politics with such ceberal topics as politically correct knitting in teal and rainbow colours. In my young days, females tried hard to keep nice figures, soft feminine voices, clean personal grooming and a willingness to be equal friends with men. Today, I suspect they do not even think much on the way to spend their money on more ice and Botox.
Geoff S.
oh yeah the spiffy clothes n figures n soft feminine voice thing..
emotionally screwed up valium popping neurotic dumbed down mums of the 50s n 60s were soooo wunnerful ( for men maybe)
too scared to change a tyre or fix the washer etc cos it was the mans job..(rural farm women mostly excepted)
for a while we managed to get some guts n grit back(war yrs mostly) then yeah the late 60s commie uni septic-outflow teachers hit the schools and we got back to the useless cows again that now dont even breed, and looking at the IQ thats probably for the best.
Well, that didn’t take long to forget the Tesla Victoria Big Battery fire that lasted four days.
I’d like to thank the Aussies for doing these kind of things (trying to be 100% dependent on unreliables). Your country and several others serve as cautionary tales which make it easier to fight this idiocy in the USA. Well, except for California – too many drug addled brain dead people there.
Sometimes I think the Japanese of old had it right. If a person failed their duty, they would commit seppuku. Would these leader be so self assured if failure meant the loss of their life? I would be willing to let a leader off if they admit what they are attempting might fail and would examine the alternatives but when a leader indicates there is no other way, I think they need to make the ultimate commitment should they fail.
Our tour guide in Japan was showing us a cave where a noted celebrity did seppuku with knife. Her English was quite good, but we chuckled when she explained that the hero went to a carve. Geoff S
pity theres no vax for stupid!
hed require 10 to start with