Silver lining to Basslink breach

RENEWABLE ENERGY

THERE’S a silver lining to every calamity. Were it not for the breach of the Basslink cable at the end of 2015 the State Government would not have done anything in support of new power generation opportunities in Tasmania. The thinking to that point was that cheap imports across Basslink was the cheaper way to go. This block in thinking applied to successive Liberal and Labor state governments. The Basslink debacle has changed all that. It has brought the Hodgman Government around to accepting widespread advice it had been receiving, that Tasmania should endeavour to attain greater than 100 per cent autonomy in its power supply, any surplus being saleable. So, good work everyone, even if it takes a disaster to help bring it about. I hasten to add electricity comprises just 40 per cent of Tasmania’s primary energy supply. For genuine energy security we eventually have to look at the other 60 per cent as well. wind turbines from China. My beef is over the feed-in tariff for people who have photovoltaic arrays on their roofs. We pay 28c a kilowatt hour for power, take out a few cents for using the infrastructure, poles and wires etc, maybe drop it down to 20-22c, why then are we only paid about 6c? They could triple the tariff and still make a profit. We are being gouged. If any government was serious we would be paid appropriately for power we generate. If only you could make electricity with hot air we could put a pipe into Parliament House and everything would be fine.

Painful catch-22

THE approximate emission factor of carbon dioxide when coal is used as a fuel source, when expressed as tonnes of CO2 per 10123 units of energy, is a factor of 90 (even when coal is sieved and washed), and there is no such thing as clean coal. However, in the case of poor countries this may be the only fuel they can afford. It is essentially a catch-22 — to leave it in the ground to help the environment or sell it to help our economy and balance of payments. I am reminded of the old Scottish saying, “You don’t throw your dirty water away until you have some clean”.

Forcing up prices

The Finkel Report recommendation of a clean energy target with a greater adoption of renewable energy would be an economic disaster. It would force up electricity prices. Renewable energy subsidies A new way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. by the taxpayer cost $3 billion annually for intermittent renewables. In the last year wholesale electricity prices have risen 63 per cent in Victoria, 43 per cent in South Australia, 22 per cent in NSW and 15 per cent in Queensland. Those unable to meet the ever-increasing power costs are left out in the cold with particularly devastating health costs to the frail and elderly. A new 1000 MV ultra-supercritical coal plant would cost less to build than one year’s subsidy to renewables and would go a long way to reducing power costs and ensuring energy security.

Promises, promises

I SEEM to remember when the last election was coming up Matthew Groom was giving us the same old spin about renewables. This government and all tiers of government need to learn they cannot treat the public like mushrooms, not listen to their concerns, keep information secret, do deals behind closed doors, help their mates out and hope they will be voted back in at the next election. As far as I’m concerned Liberal and Labor like to make promises they know they will not keep or even attempt to keep. There is too much of politicians having to vote along party lines even if they have a different opinion. Every five minutes we hear from Rene Hidding about what he’s done for us, but we’re still stuck in traffic. The only politician I can say anything good about is Peter Gutwein as his office went out of their way to help me with information I needed.

Dress code

I AM not sure what a boy wearing a dress to school has to do with two consenting adults getting married, however it seems to me that if it was good enough for Jesus to wear long flowing robes, why can’t a schoolboy?

Bemused by polls

GETTING confused between all the public opinion polls — cable car, skyscrapers in Hobart, Australia Day holiday, same sex marriage. How about a Hobart cable car that only goes 45m high and on January 26 anyone riding the car can be married?

Hoping for good show

LET’S hope the commitment announced by Energy Minister Groom to enable Tasmania to be energy self-sufficient actually happens and isn’t just another episode of the ABC’s Utopia.

Waste worries

IF Tasmanian sewage treatment systems are too inefficient to meet the needs of locals, eg, raw sewage in the Tamar, how are they going to cope with increased tourist numbers?

Testing

POLITICIANS will never agree to a drug test as suggested by Jacqui Lambie. It would have to come out positive if you are going by their performance to help those in need.