The ‘SA Energy Crisis’ Is A Myth Peddled By Liars

April 26, 2017 2017-04-27T15:07:59 by 14 Comments
protesting crowd

If you repeat a message long and loud enough many people will accept it as true.

At the start of the month I wrote that South Australia’s grid was in disarray.  I warned that more blackouts were inevitable as soon as summer rolled around again or adverse weather struck.

With my warning I wanted to give people a sense of perilous urgency on the need to do something about the dilapidated state of the grid that we depend upon for our jobs, our well being, and civilization itself.

But that was on April Fools Day.

I wasn’t serious. [Read more…]

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Despite What The Coalition Says Or Doesn’t Say, The “Solar Rebate” Won’t End Soon

January 27, 2017 2017-07-06T11:23:12 by 9 Comments

Will they scrap the Renewable Energy Target (and by extension the ‘Solar Rebate’) or won’t they?

The Australian newspaper has reported that a couple of Coalition MPs have said Australia should scrap its Renewable Energy Target (RET) if Donald Trump dumps the United States’ commitment to the Paris climate agreement. [Read more…]

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Will Trump Take A Dump On Solar?

November 10, 2016 2017-04-18T15:12:28 by 10 Comments
usa flag in solar cells

Will Trump destroy the US clean energy industry?

Donald Trump has won the US Presidential election.  The people of the United States of America have spoken.  They haven’t spoken very well, but they have done it.  And since they will have a guy in charge who never shuts up, they’re not likely to stop now.

[Read more…]

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Australian Politicians Confuse Wind Power And Powerful Winds

September 29, 2016 2017-04-18T15:34:30 by 14 Comments
wind vs wind power

Which of our elected politicians can tell the difference? Read on to find out…

Yesterday all of South Australia was blacked out and parts of the state are still without grid power today. This occurred because a powerful storm damaged transmission lines and the entire state grid automatically shut down as a safety precaution to prevent more damage.

Restarting a grid after a complete shutdown is complex and requires several hours. And it took several hours for grid power to start to be restored.

There is no mystery to what happened. It is very simple:

1. There was a really big storm.
2. Transmission lines were damaged.
3. The grid shut down automatically as a safety precaution, like it should have.

If you don’t believe power lines were damaged by strong winds, here is a picture of high voltage, steel girder, transmission towers near Port Augusta.  The wind bent them over so their tops touch the ground.

This picture shows how unusual the situation was. Transmission towers do not normally lie down on the ground to take a rest.

In addition to gale force winds there were also so many lightning strikes they would have been countless if someone hadn’t counted them and tornadoes. As more detailed information is reported we will probably learn if it was lightning strikes, gale force winds, or a big willy willy that provided the straw that safety precautioned the camel’s back. [Read more…]

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Canberra reshuffle: Mr Coal gets the job but is it all bad news?

July 25, 2016 2017-10-25T08:22:09 by Leave a Comment
josh frydenberg

Josh Frydenberg is in charge of energy. Should we be worried?

Like experienced card sharps waiting for the deal, all eyes were on the Canberra environment portfolio reshuffles last week. This following the near-disastrous election result for the Coalition where hopes were high that Malcolm 3.0 may have “got the message” on renewable policy. [Read more…]

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Will Malcolm grow a pair on solar power policy?

July 21, 2016 2018-05-09T09:14:54 by 8 Comments
malcolm 3.0

Will Malcolm 3.0 take on the anti-solar brigade in his party, like Malcolm 1.0 did?

Last week we touched on how the newly-elected Malcolm Turnbull could take on the anti-renewables wing of his party to implement sensible and far-reaching reforms. This week we look at whether Mal 3.0 has the stomach for the fight…and what this means for solar power policy in Australia. [Read more…]

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Is renewable policy Turnbull’s road map back to the centre?

July 11, 2016 2017-10-25T08:22:57 by 4 Comments
malcolm and a sun

Is Malcolm Turnbull More Worried About Climate Change Battering Australia Or Right Wingers Battering Him?

Eight days after the election, it looks like the LNP will be returned with a slender majority.  What does this bode for renewable policy in Australia? [Read more…]

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Election 2016. Solar is safe only if Nick Xenophon’s Team supports it.

July 4, 2016 2017-10-25T08:23:12 by 5 Comments
marcom turnbull and renewable energy

Turnbull’s submission to the right on issues such as renewable energy has not worked out so well for him.

Ah yes. Turnbull’s big gamble of calling a double dissolution election to regain control of policy looks like it’s failed. And failed miserably. Not only has the Coalition been stymied in its attempt to gain control of the Senate, it hasn’t yet been confirmed as having enough seats to govern in its own right in the Lower House.

For the solar industry this is most likely good news.  A Liberal controlled upper and lower house would almost certainly have resulted in another attempt to kill the Renewable Energy Target, and with it the solar rebate. That is unlikely to happen now. [Read more…]

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Keith De Lacy Is Not Right About Solar And Wind Power – Not Here, Not Anywhere

June 27, 2016 2017-04-18T18:01:05 by 26 Comments
article

A response to Keith De Lacey’s article in the Australian last week.

The Australian recently published an opinion piece by the Director of an oil shale company and former Chairman of Macarthur Coal, entitled, “Solar And Wind Power Simply Don’t Work – Not Here, Not Anywhere“.

This was surprising because the solar panels above my head are producing electricity right now.  And since I know exactly how much I paid for them I know they are definitely economically worthwhile. Also, because I know exactly how much the STCs I received as part of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target were worth I know the rooftop solar system would still pay for itself even without subsidy. [Read more…]

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Election 2016: renewables roundup week #7 – the Brexit Edition

June 27, 2016 2017-10-25T08:23:30 by 5 Comments
brexit text on solar

Q. What does the Brexit mean for Australian Solar? A. Higher prices.

Well that was interesting wasn’t it folks? Just as the Australian election was drifting off into the sunset, we get hit by the arrival of an enormous, loud and dangerous elephant in the room. I’m talking of course of the surprise Brexit result where Brits voted to exit the European Union, a result that sent shock waves across the world.

Prime Minister Turnbull was quick to grace our screens (sans the hi-vis vest and hard hat this time) to assure us — in his most statesmanlike voice — that the vote would not affect Australia in any way. The fact that he looked like a kid hauled before the headmaster, with a trembling bottom lip and shaky “wasn’t me, wasn’t me” speech didn’t make him look that convincing though.

Next came Bouncing Billy Shorten, who will now see his chances of winning the election recede, also determined to tell us that his party’s policies are the best choice in these now choppy waters. [Read more…]

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