The " Green energy " myth !

It is theoretically possible for Australia to convert entirely to replaceable " Green " energy, but the social and ecological cost would be huge.    We would need to find an outlay of at least $ 330 billion and the average power bill would increase by a whopping $ 600 a year.   Wind and solar are both " intermittent " and as a consequence, we would need to at least double the stand-by capacity.

Estimating the land use necessary to house the required wind farms and solar arrays delivers an acreage similar to the island of Bali.    Electricity is best produced as near as possible to the source of it's usage because the greater the transport distance, the greater the end product fritters away in transit.  This production acreage would need to be where we can least afford to quarantine productive land.

We will probably never entirely eliminate the need to have thermal power generators on stand-by - unless we accept the reality of blackouts caused by unusual weather patterns.    Just as we have regular droughts and rain events - and windless days  -  we also have volcanoes that emit dust particles that cloud the atmosphere - and solar flares that disrupt electrical transmission facilities.   There is a thin edge between reliability - and a third world power situation.

There is a relentless demand for us to move to entirely replaceable energy sources from the Greens.  Their fanatical outlook on cause and effect totally ignores the practical side of how such a decision would affect this country's economy - and how it would affect the living standards of each and every family.  As events are now showing, our economy already has a gaping black hole - and now is not a good time for another ecological spending spree.

In a perfect world, our borders would be open to all who wish to call this land home and our citizens would cheerfully accept a lowered standard of living to live more in tune with nature.    Welcome to the " real world " - where people worry about having a safe job - or even having some sort of job which provides an income.   

The mantra from the Greens sounds so appealing - until the plans are converted into the reality of cost and effect.   In reality, life is a succession of compromises.   We have converted some dirty coal fired electricity generators to less polluting natural gas and we have installed wind farms and solar arrays.   This mixture has improved our carbon footprint - and in the years ahead we will make further gains.

That is not the envisaged way for those with fanatical views on the world we live in !