Electricity from the grid is so expensive in Australia that the payback period of privately-owned solar panels is just a couple of years, if all the power is used on site (i.e. no storage or buybacks). Australia’s grid is largely foreign owned, quite a lot by the governments of Singapore and China.
The author mentioned fracking. Australia’s natural gas situation is quite bad too, but not for a lack of fracking. Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of natural gas, but at a loss. Domestic customers face supply shortages and are charged several times the international price to make up for the losses, to the point where Australian gas distributors are planning import terminals to provide their customers with cheaper gas from overseas. The Australian gas exporting company Santos is in the process of being sold to foreign interests.
Anyway, Australia is in decline for many more reasons than the author states. Look for the country to be this century’s Argentina.
“Australia is in decline for many more reasons than the author states.”
Would you explain briefly a few of those reasons if you have a minute? I know so little about Australia but am interested. Thanks.