Abolish Unreliable Energy Targets

Killing the carbon tax is not enough to restore sanity to Australia’s energy policies - the Renewable Energy Targets must also be abolished.

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No matter what laws are passed in Parliament, wind/solar power can never supply reliable economical grid power - their fundamental flaws are too numerous. Their low energy density means that large areas of land must be blighted to collect a significant quantity of power. Moreover, their intermittent supply pattern means that they cannot maintain a predictable electricity supply. And even if some magic cheap storage system is invented, the expensive wind/solar generating facilities will remain under-utilised for more than 60% of the time, and up to 30% of any energy stored will be lost in transfers. Finally, without storage, green power needs full backup from reliable generation plants (which must also operate intermittently). Germany is proving that an advanced society cannot survive on wind/solar energy, even with support from French nuclear power, Swedish hydro-power, Russian gas and Polish coal. For too long, green dreamers have forced their daft ideas on Australia’s power supply network. We need to employ real power engineers and grown-up energy technology. The Renewable Energy Targets should be renamed “Unreliable Energy Targets” and abolished immediately. Viv Forbes, Rosewood, Qld, Australia

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