The switch to wind power is proving to be a disaster - all in the name of environmentalism.
It's not that the idea of renewable energy is inherently bad - if it can to work, great - cheap, clean energy would be a wonderful thing.
But they are pursuing it at the expense of common sense and with an inordinate amount of faith that nothing will go wrong.
Here, it looks very much like they chose to start rolling blackouts rather than activate a natural gas power station that was entirely ready to come online - so obsessed are they with their clean energy goals.
I wonder if any Governmental orother left wing “elites” had to suffer without power.
All in the name of a theory that has not been proven.
The cut back of fossil fuels in Australia have no significant effect, even in the silly computer models of those promoting the scare.
This shows how dangerous the concentration of media power in the hands of “progressives” has become, especially in Australia.
I suspect that alternative media is gaining ground there. At least I hope it is.
Sounds like a good place to get your own solar cells and battery backup. This is where going self sufficient in solar power pays off. It’s not about saving money. It’s about having power when the system lets you down.
That's pure insanity. All that coal in NSW ... the greenies refusing to use it is criminal.
Welcome to the the Turd World.
I'm certainly no expert on such things but IMO there just might be parts of the world where solar power makes sense *today*.It seems possible to me that sometime in the future (if equipment prices go down) it might make sense in many places but *today*:
1)Parts of Australia.I've been to the Outback and there's lots and lots of open space and lots and *lots* of sunshine there.And being fairly close to the equator helps too.
2)The Arabian Peninsula.I've been there too...and ditto the Outback.If anything,there's even *more* sunshine there.
This is going to motivate people to by cheap dirty generators that will pollute worse than that coal plant ever did.
Good. Maybe this will wake up a few folks to the practical results of following extremist Green orthodoxy.
The Scots did the exact same thing and had the exact same problem when the “never ending” North Sea winds just stopped blowing and the back up plants had been torn down - probably to make room for a “Peace Park.”
Two important notes.
First, alternative energy will *never* replace fossil fuels, because it simply cannot produce enough energy to do so. But this being said, its *best* application is *marginal* energy provision, at which it is very cost effective.
For example, look at a home that has an attic in a hot climate. The air in the attic can get blistering hot, which radically increases the load on the air conditioner. But if you put a simple, solar powered fan in the attic, to blow out the hot air, it may reduce the attic temperature by 20-30 degrees (it will still be hot up there). But in doing so, it will substantially reduce the load on the air conditioner cooling the rooms beneath the attic.
Bingo, solar power saves a ton of energy, and money, by making a *marginal* change.
Second, by far the best way to conserve energy is by not *needing* to expend it. In the last decade, we have been waiting patiently for industrial scale production of flexible, thin sheet aerogel insulation. Aerogel is a ridiculously efficient *insulator*, with just three millimeters equivalent to several feet of fiberglass insulation.
Everybody wants aerogel, but very large scale industrial production is taking way too long to get underway, so is one of those things that actually needs government incentives to get the ball rolling.
Aerogel needs to be sealed in some kind of protective plastic sheet, but that is a small matter. Once in full production, it can be used to insulate homes, refrigerators and freezers, ovens and even water tanks to keep what is hot and what is cold from normalizing.
And the energy savings would be profound. Importantly, the less fossil energy you actually *need*, the more alternative energy, still a marginal source, becomes efficient.
There is a difference between Base and Peak energy. Hard to spool up those Base load plants when they are off.
Once again Liberalism does not survive First Contact with reality.
They can’t use candles for light they’ll melt in the heat , LOL
>It relies heavily on wind generation for its power needs.<
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All you greenies should consider using LNG for your energy needs.
And to think we’re talking FEBRUARY here!!!
(this is what I would post if trolling a liberal site, just for fun!)
Part of my career was spent on energy planning. Wind power is an interruptible energy supply for obvious reasons. I would not allow wind in my supply portfolio as a firm supply on a peak day. Greenie Weenies are idiots. On the hottest day of the year you want your AC to work.
This government has so poorly managed this that we are repaint on Victoria for almost a third of our power. If they have a few hot days and need outstrips supply guess who comes second. Strange thing is that it’s all in the rush to appear Green but Victoria uses brown goal to produce up to 70% of it’s own power while we have closed gas fired plants. I live here and I cant believe people still want to make excuses for this government and it’s poor management.