Category Archives: Energy

Coal: the missing link

Brian Wawn The Spectator Australia 26 May 2023 Coal will be indispensable for electricity generation in Australia for the foreseeable future. Of its competitors; natural gas is much more expensive for base-load electricity (that is, continuous electricity); nuclear power is at least a decade away; and wind and solar energy are weather and cloud-dependent andContinue reading “Coal: the missing link”

Anti-coal politicians have no alternative but to keep lights on

Peta Credlin The Sunday Telegraph April 22, 2023 Too often in politics, the urgent drives out the important. It’s the political equivalent of the captain of the Titanic worrying about the drinks service while the ship is steaming into an iceberg. At no recent election, state or federal, has either big party made security ofContinue reading “Anti-coal politicians have no alternative but to keep lights on”

Liddell shutdown to put “green energy” system to the acid test

Apr 13 Posted by Editor, cairnsnews By TONY MOBILIFONITIS AT the time of this article being written, the three remaining units in 1680 megawatt Liddell Power station near Musswellbrook, NSW, were due to be turned off in just 14 days as autumn and winter set in. Last winter, during a low-wind deep freeze, the AustralianContinue reading “Liddell shutdown to put “green energy” system to the acid test”

Europe abandons electric vehicle mandate due to lack of green baseload power

Mar 29 Posted by Editor, cairnsnews https://www.europereloaded.com/europe-abandons-all-electric-car-mandate/ The transition was supposed to go on for 13 years after its announcement in 2022 but was abandoned only a year after its adoption. What happened? Prodded by climate activists, the EU was pressured to ban fossil fuel vehicles and replace them with battery-powered vehicles. The problem isContinue reading “Europe abandons electric vehicle mandate due to lack of green baseload power”

Failure on the horizon

Flat White Saxon Davidson Getty Images Saxon Davidson 21 March 2023 5:00 AM The consequence of Daniel Andrews’ constitutional ban on gas is about to catch up with Victoria’s energy supply, to the detriment of every Victorian household and business. In a recently released report analysing gas transmission network planning, the Australian Energy Market OperatorContinue reading “Failure on the horizon”

Fission vs fusion and the limits of utopian energy

Flat White Getty Images Flat White 13 February 2023 6:30 AM All operational nuclear power plants are based upon the breakthrough technology of nuclear fission. A controlled chain reaction is initiated where a large nucleus, such as Uranium-235, absorbs a neutron and then splits into lighter elements. This process produces heat. In its simplest terms,Continue reading “Fission vs fusion and the limits of utopian energy”

Energy starvation: the West goes hungry to keep the lights on

Flat White Flat White Getty Images Flat White 19 February 2023 6:24 PM Mainstream and government-based publications have been running concerning headlines in recent months regarding food insecurity in Western nations – including the EU, America, the UK, and Australia. CNBC published an article on their Davos special titled, Families will skip meals to deal withContinue reading “Energy starvation: the West goes hungry to keep the lights on”

Politicians have sabotaged the energy market

Flat White Alan Moran Getty Images Alan Moran 13 June 2022 9:00 AM ‘After a decade of denial and delay, Australia deserves a better future – one with cheaper power, more jobs, and less emissions,’ said Energy Minister Chris Bowen, in his last media release prior to gaining government. Mr Bowen advocated replacing coal generatorsContinue reading “Politicians have sabotaged the energy market”

Now Albo wants your electricity, too

Features Australia A new government program plans to rob consumers of their own energy supplies Bronwyn Bishop Getty Images Bronwyn Bishop 4 March 2023 9:00 AM The Albanese government and the Greens have a hidden agenda and it’s not good for you. Why you might ask did the Greens demand as their trade-off for supportingContinue reading “Now Albo wants your electricity, too”

Nuclear power: crossing the ideological divide

Flat White Nick Spencer Getty Images Nick Spencer 1 March 2023 5:30 AM Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis. The abject failure of renewables to meet basic power requirements combined with the abandonment of reliable energy sources has made a recipe for disaster and it looks as if Australia is destined toContinue reading “Nuclear power: crossing the ideological divide”

Painting the Near Future in Blackouts and Green

Doomed Planet Peter Smith Frequent contributor The other day Chris Bowen, minister for a contradiction in terms (namely, climate change and energy), stood on the Gippsland shores surveying Bass Strait, imagining offshore wind turbines so far as his eyes could see. And, following Die Hard‘s Hans Gruber’s take on Alexander the Great, when he sawContinue reading “Painting the Near Future in Blackouts and Green”

Chris Bowen’s rendezvous with bad ideas

Alan Moran Getty Images Alan Moran 22 December 2022 9:00 AM Back in July 2022, Chris Bowen the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, launched the latest CSIRO electricity costs report which says wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity supply. He said, ‘This underlines the need for Australia and the world to investContinue reading “Chris Bowen’s rendezvous with bad ideas”