Posted on 08/29/2010 5:56:31 PM PDT by george76
power prices are set to increase dramatically. Origin Energy boss Grant King said that complying with the mandatory renewable energy target (RET) and network spending would put upward pressure on energy prices.
"That's not of our making, or anybody other than policymakers...That's just the inevitable and logical consequences of the policies" that governments are implementing.
His comments follow both federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson and his opposition counterpart Ian Macfarlane warning in separate interviews... that power prices were likely to double in the next five to seven years.
Mr King said that estimate was "possibly conservative" and added that many consumers of utilities faced "a real come to Jesus moment" as suppliers were forced to re-price energy, water and other essential services.
Wind farms would cost between $100 and $125 per megawatt hour, compared with $30 to $40 per MWh for coal.
Moreover, the intermittent nature of wind means that it would need to be backed up with big-ticket investment in gas turbine power plants.
Mr King said he suspected that policymakers "didn't truly know the cost" of policies that had been introduced.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
That's right. You have to pass the bill to see what's in it.
That's pure Barbara Streisand
Then why mess around with coal?
Planting wind looks like the most logical approach to producing energy at the lowest cost.
Coming soon to America, courtesy the Obama green agenda:
Obama czar's shock admission - green jobs goal is 'complete revolution' away from gray capitalism?
"We are going to push it and push it and push it."
“Off the grid” is where I’d like to be....
No $#!+, Sherlock!
how “unexpected” .....
Easy there, they may have acted from the vantage point of complete and utter ignorance. Clearly, the policy makers know neither their tit from their elbow nor their nether orifice from a hole in the ground.
Their performance is in line with the expected results of a group a toddlers set free with a case of whiskey and the keys to the family car.
Huh?????
I'm off-grid, in upstate NY, with photovoltaic panels as primary source and a (currently offline for maintenance) 1940's Jacobs windplant as secondary source.
Initial capital investment was substantial, but has long since been recovered by not paying NYSEG (utility) bills. House has standard 120VAC power wiring throughout. House design is very energy efficient, and there are a few compromises (refrig and stove are propane, not electric). But a visitor can't tell it's not totally "normal".
Only problem is, due to the fact that this is the least sunny area of the continental U.S. other than Seattle, with the windplant offline there are times in the fall and winter when I have to supplement the PVs with a gas generator for a couple hours a week. That won't be a problem when the windplant is running again.
I encourage you to look into going off-grid. It's a great feeling to not suffer utility power outages, and not pay a utility bill. But doing so requires some research, and some care and feeding of the gear, since you're effectively your own power company.
Translation: Our corporate campaign contributors, many of whom buy the worthless bonds we use to buy votes, are telling us to push it and push it.
It's a tax.
where is the capitalist hero to make the systems affordable for startup ???
You can count on a total meltdown!
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