Nick Cater: the Mandatory RET the Greatest Rort of All Time

Hostages to a renewable ruse The Australian Nick Cater 29 July 2014 The Abbott bashers are unwittingly siding with crafty merchant bankers. THE power couple. If there is a sound more pitiable than the whine of a pious environmental activist, it is the wail of a ­financier about to do his dough. The mournful chorus … Continue reading Nick Cater: the Mandatory RET the Greatest Rort of All Time

Sun, wind and drain: the Hidden and Obscene Cost of Wind Power

Wind power doesn't run on wind, it runs on subsidies. And the cost of these subsidies goes way beyond direct financial incentives; such as the REC Tax levied on all Australian power consumers - and extends to the cost of conventional generators holding sufficient spinning reserve and fast-start-up Open Cycle Gas Turbines - both forced … Continue reading Sun, wind and drain: the Hidden and Obscene Cost of Wind Power

Business Calls for RET Retreat to Save Real Jobs

Corporate call for Clive Palmer to retreat on Renewable Energy Target Sid Maher The Austrlian 25 July 2014 CLIVE Palmer faces pressure to allow changes to the Renewable Energy Target after business groups released modelling showing the existing scheme will drive up power prices by $49 a year per household over the next decade and … Continue reading Business Calls for RET Retreat to Save Real Jobs

When the Wind Doesn’t Blow…NO POWER!

Terry McCran writes about the stupidity of intermittent power output from wind farms in Australia looking at July 21. Truth is July 22 was worse. When the wind doesn’t blow, the power doesn’t switch on Terry McCrann Herald Sun 22 July 2014 ON Monday, all the wind farms in Southern Australia, all the hundreds of … Continue reading When the Wind Doesn’t Blow…NO POWER!

Bjørn Lomborg: Wind Power is a Vanity Project

*** When it comes to assessing the costs, risks and benefits of environmental policy Bjørn Lomborg has always tried to provide balanced, detailed analysis supported by facts and evidence. The economic choices we make - about allocating scarce resources to unlimited wants – should – as Lomborg consistently points out - be made taking into … Continue reading Bjørn Lomborg: Wind Power is a Vanity Project

Wind Power: Not Even Enough for a Cuppa

Giant wind farm will cost millions and ruin Brighton view Christopher Booker The Telegraph 19 July 2014 What good will come from the colossal wind turbines to be put up off the Sussex coast? Over the next four years, visitors to Brighton and the Sussex coast are in for a shock. Visible all the way … Continue reading Wind Power: Not Even Enough for a Cuppa

UK’s Environment Minister (Owen Patterson): Taking on the Great ‘Green’ Blob

Writing for The Telegraph, the former environment secretary, Owen Paterson, says he is proud of standing up to the green lobby, Owen Paterson: I’m proud of standing up to the green lobby Owen Patterson The Telegraph 20 July 2014 Every prime minister has the right to choose his team to take Britain into the general … Continue reading UK’s Environment Minister (Owen Patterson): Taking on the Great ‘Green’ Blob

Battle for Mount Emerald Reaches Boiling Point

The battle to prevent RATCH from getting planning approval for the disaster it proposes for Mount Emerald has reached fever pitch. With 90% of locals bitterly opposed to the project, common sense would suggest a polite withdrawal by the developer. Instead, however, RATCH has dipped into the standard book of wind industry lies and half-truths … Continue reading Battle for Mount Emerald Reaches Boiling Point

Burchell Wilson: Sectors Should Join to Beat the RET

  Burchell Wilson holds the chief economist role at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He's been on the front foot for some time now, seeking the abolition of the mandatory RET - which he sees as "corporate welfare on a massive scale". Here's Burchell unloading in today's Australian. Sectors should join to beat … Continue reading Burchell Wilson: Sectors Should Join to Beat the RET

Mandatory RET Threatens Jobs & Australian Energy Security

The mandatory RET not only threatens thousands of real jobs, it's threatening Australia's energy security. The perverse market distortion created by the RET allows wind power outfits to dump electricity at prices approaching zero, on those occasions when the wind is blowing (see our post here). The result being that incumbent generators are precluded from … Continue reading Mandatory RET Threatens Jobs & Australian Energy Security