The Australian PM MUST understand that ‘Whatever policies are directed at recovering from the coronavirus lockdown, without reliable and affordable power Australia’s energy hungry businesses are doomed. With rocketing power prices, and an intermittent supply, mineral processors and manufacturers are terminal, and have been for years.
Politicians and academic boffins have been giving lip service to improving Australia’s “resilience” and “self-sufficiency”, resulting in the renaissance of Australian manufacturing and industry.
With Australian businesses suffering among world’s highest power prices (thanks to its obsession with intermittent wind and solar, South Australian households and businesses suffer the highest prices in the world), the rebirth of manufacturing and industry sounds like so much wishful thinking.
International supply chains may have ground to a halt and the orderly flow of goods to market disrupted, but, before too long China will regain its primacy as the world’s manufacturing powerhouse. Two factors are responsible for China’s dominance in that domain: a cheap and flexible labour supply; and a reliable and affordable power supply. The latter being generated by hundreds of coal-fired power plants, with more being added every day.
If Scott Morrison was even vaguely serious about improving the prospects for Australian businesses, he would be pushing for new coal-fired power plants in the short-term and nuclear power plants over the longer term. But, to date, the Morrison government has been a shining example of considered inertia on meaningful energy policy. The latest wheeze is turning heavily subsidised wind and solar power into hydrogen gas: Hydrogen Hoax: Wind & Solar Rent-Seekers Demand Subsidies To Convert Their Chaotic Power Into Gas‘ https://stopthesethings.com/2020/05/31/save-our-jobs-australias-economic-recovery-demands-reliable-affordable-coal-fired-power/
whatyareckon 