Is it just me or have we somehow gone back in time?
US President Donald Trump is introducing 1960’s era tariffs and isolationist polices that are creating massive global economic risk and uncertainty.
Over the past four years private investors have put $40 billion into wind and solar and $15 billion into big batteries. This is because these are proven technologies and the lowest cost solution available to Australia.Kane Thornton Clean Energy Council Chief Executive
This investment has doubled the amount of renewable energy in Australia over the past five years, now making up some 46 per cent of our electricity mix - and needs to continue if we are to replace aging, unreliable and increasingly expensive coal.
For all of the politics and noise, the level of renewable energy supported by the two major parties is a significant point of difference at the upcoming federal election.
On the one hand, the ALP’s policy is to reach 82 per cent renewables by 2030. This is an ambitious but achievable goal given the enormous pipeline of renewable energy projects we have across Australia. It will be delivered by private investors (rather than taxpayers) if they have confidence that the current policy settings will continue.
On the other hand, the Coalition is heading to the 3 May Federal Election with a policy to cap renewables at 54 per cent, roll the dice on extending the life of old coal and increase our reliance on gas, while waiting 20 years for nuclear. Nuclear is unproven and expensive - that’s why private investors won’t put their money anywhere near it.
The seven nuclear reactors being proposed by the Coalition would have to be built and paid for by taxpayers to the tune of $600 billion, which will ultimately impact power prices. Meanwhile ramping up the use of gas for electricity generation is easier said than done – it’s hard to access and would be super costly.
It’s blatantly obvious that capping the lowest cost energy generator (renewables) and substituting it for the highest cost source (gas) would be bad for power bills. That’s before we even factor in paying for nuclear.
In a cost-of-living crisis, the Coalition’s energy policy is forecast by global energy experts to slap an additional $449 on the average family’s annual power bill in 2030.
Analysis also shows capping renewables at 54 per cent would send Australia backwards, sacrificing $58 billion worth of new private sector investment over the next five years, while erasing 42,000 well-paying jobs in these regions –electricians, engineers, concreters, technicians, truckies and labourers.
The only way to ensure the lights stay on and power prices come down is to accelerate the use of the lowest cost solutions – wind and solar backed up by batteries, hydro and a small amount of gas – and minimise the use of high-cost solutions like nuclear and much more gas. The alternative is a recipe for disaster.Kane Thornton Clean Energy Council Chief Executive
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