The last issue of Gecko Chirps was about our declining living standards brought about by rising costs. Gecko said things will only get worse. Here’s why.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen who claims wind and solar energy are cheap and clean, has yet to explain, if this is the case, why our power bills continue to rise. Journalists do not have the intellectual acuity to even challenge Bowen and hence we continue to be inundated with propaganda from the government and proponents of singularly minded climate maniacs.
Power prices went up an average 28.7% from July 1, 2023 and it is now forecast that southeast Queensland power prices will rise again by up to 7%, but this is yet to be confirmed. So much for renewables providing affordable power!
It only takes a moment’s reckoning to appreciate that the grid-scale storage electricity generated by wind or solar is perfect nonsense. It hasn’t occurred anywhere in the world; nor will it. This is the reason why renewables must be viewed as an adjunct to primary base power, such as coal-fired power stations and nuclear power generators. Solar and wind combined with battery storage will not provide the base power required for large scale manufacturing. Try producing steel using batteries.
Back in 2017, South Australia, Australia’s wind power capital, squandered $150 million on one of Elon Musk’s creations that would power the state for all of four minutes when the wind stops blowing and the sun doesn’t shine! The problem faced with renewables is intermittency of wind and solar and the ability of batteries to provide the necessary grid power. Currently, all batteries on Earth store just 10 minutes of the world’s electricity needs.
Our power system is becoming increasingly more fragile, which is affecting reliability because we continue to shut down our coal-fired power plants, solely relying on renewables. Blackouts will become the norm unless there is a change of focus on power generation. That focus must be that renewables are an adjunct to the power grid, it is not a primary power generation, simply because wind and solar just cannot meet our power needs. Furthermore, smart meters are being introduced which enables power companies to control your usage by load shedding or even turning off your power for a finite time, depending on the demand. You think this is a joke – it is happening now. You need to ask the question, if the government is out to control everything you do, it seems capitalism is being eroded in favour of socialist and communist ideology, not something I would think we, as a free nation would endorse.
Now, the Left, the Greenies, want to close down all coal-fired power stations and gas in favour of wind and solar generated power to save the planet. Australia produces about 1% of the world’s emissions. It is madness to assume we are continuing down this path when there is no thought to planning to keep coal-fired power generation and/or nuclear power generation to provide the required electricity needs. This madness with net zero emissions is exactly that …. madness, because technically, it is not achievable. Perhaps the next step will be to cull the human population because guess what, we exhale carbon dioxide.
With the push for EVs, power demands will increase and put more pressure on our power generation. Just imagine everybody returning from work to start charging their EV overnight, there will not be enough battery power available to fully charge your EV. If the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, then maybe you might have to ride your bicycle to work.
The government continues with their propaganda that renewables such as wind and solar are clean and free. The wind and the sun are free, but not the manufacturing costs nor the subsidies provided by our government, our tax money. Nor does wind and solar have longevity – maybe 20 years if you are lucky. The nuclear power plant at Lucas Heights has been in operation for 60 years to mainly provide for medical research and delivery. At this stage, wind turbine blades and solar panels are manufactured, not by renewable energy sources but by power generated from coal-fired power stations. China continues to use our coal and build more coal-fired power plants and is considering sourcing coal from other suppliers – where does this leave us? Coal export provides a significant slice of income; without that income, things will only get worse in terms of cost-of-living and rising prices.
The question needs to be asked about all these government handouts being given out while ordinary Australians struggle with cost-of-living pressure and rising fuel and electricity prices. The Albanese Government is pumping $2 billion into green projects in southeast Asia which is extraordinary when Australians are struggling to make ends meet. That money should be spent here.
In another example of subsidies by this government is the handing of $840 million to Gina Rinehart to develop a lithium mine and refinery in the Northern Territory. That’s not all either as lithium developer Liontown resources got $230 million in government agency loans. Guess who the major shareholder in Liontown is - Gina Rinehart. There is no guarantee whether the digging up and refining of lithium happens, but you can be sure that China will most likely be the recipient.
Here are some predictions from the past, just to prove to you that planet Earth is still alive and well and not about to self-destruct.
1960s – no oil in 10 years;
1970s – another ice age in 10 years;
1980s – acid rain will destroy all crops in 10 years and the world will starve;
1990s – the ozone layer will be gone in 10 years and we will all roast;
2000s – the ice caps will be gone in 10 years;
2010s – it’s never going to rain and the cities will run out of water (thanks Flannery);
2020s – if we don’t reduce our carbon emissions the world will heat up, causing existential extinctions and collapse of civilization.
Yep, we sure are doomed! Propaganda is alive and well and common sense is now a rarity! Until next time, Gecko Chirps.
P.S. While writing this article, the power went out! I won’t say I told you so, but I did! J