While Australia is increasing expenditure of consumer and taxpayer money to the renewables industry, governments around the world have decided that “enough is enough”.

Other countries are realising that renewable energy is a massive waste of tax payer funds and has zero or negligible effect on CO2 emissions. They are thus cutting or eliminating subsidies to the grossly inefficient green power generators.

Here are some recently reported examples:

Spain cuts subsidies to wind and solar:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6611YR20100702

Italy cuts subsidies to wind and solar:
http://www.windfair.net/press/7606.html

Germany cuts subsidies to solar:
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2265976/germany-poised-phase-solar

Denmark to cut subsidies to wind:
http://www.ref.org.uk/PressDetails/163

France to slash solar subsidies:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/182530-european-solar-subsidy-slashing-bad-news-for-investors

Ontario cuts incentives for solar:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/07/07/ottawa-solar-rate-drop.html

Wind power does not reduce CO2 emissions:
http://www.masterresource.org/2010/06/subsidizing-co2-emissions/

Here are a few examples of the ways in which Australian state and federal Governments subsidise or give unfair advantage to renewables:

• Bans on nuclear power
• Renewable Energy Targets
• Renewable Energy Certificates
• Feed in Tariffs
• Direct government subsidies for renewable energy
• Tax and other incentives
• Cost of the electricity grid enhancements that are needed to accommodate the disruptive, erratic renewable energy generators is shared by everyone instead of being attributed to the renewable energy generators.
• Super Profits Tax on coal mining.
• Threats to shut down or in other ways disadvantage coal fired power plants without fair compensation for the investors.

PDF version: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sunset-for-subsidies.pdf [PDF, 15KB]

1. Gambling our Future on Sunbeams and Sea Breezes
2. The Great Kyoto Land Grab
3. The Iceland Volcano and Climate Change
4. Oceans, Volcanic Heat and Ice
5. Emissions from Nature
6. No Time for Resting

The full newsletter: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sunbeams-and-seabreezes.pdf [PDF, 111KB]

“We think that, by 2020, the cost of electricity will be threefold what it is today, given the current policy of large amounts of renewables being forced into the system, un-costed charges for those renewables given the current policy settings and a substantial increase in transmission and distribution costs.”

Grant King, CEO Origin Energy

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/energy-prices-to-triple-says-origin-chief/story-e6frg8zx-1225853385647

The Carbon Sense Coalition has produced a submission to the Australian Government Enquiry into “The Enhanced Renewable Energy Target Scheme”, April 2010.

From the submission:

“The total justification for this massive upheaval of Australia’s industry and economy is the contention that man’s production of the colourless harmless gas, carbon dioxide, is likely to cause dangerous global warming. But never has the government conducted an open public enquiry to test the truth of this statement. Instead they have relied on an increasingly discredited political body, the UN’s IPCC, or on their own paid employees (who have learned the dangers of contradicting the message of powerful politicians.)”

Read the full submission: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/renewable-energy-targets.pdf [PDF, 83KB]

A statement by Viv Forbes, Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition.

27 March 2010

The Carbon Sense Coalition today said that Earth Hour should be renamed “Blackout Night” and be held outdoors, for the whole night, in mid-winter, on the shortest and coldest day of the year – 22 June in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that all supporters of alternative energy should spend just one night in the cold and the dark, emitting no carbon dioxide from coal, oil, gas, petrol or diesel for lights, TV, hot coffee, barbecues or cars. This will be good practice for the blackouts and shortages to come if Penny Wong’s rationing of carbon products and carbon energy is attempted.

“Winter nights are usually still and cold, so the candles crew can experience what it was like depending on alternate energy in the recent snowstorms in the Northern Hemisphere when wind turbines froze and solar panels were covered in snow. The back-to-nature brigade can also try living without iron roofs and concrete walls, both of which require coal and emit carbon dioxide during their production.

“To hold a candles-and-champagne party indoors, on the mildest night of the year, for just one hour, shows that the whole thing is green tokenism. Moreover both candles and champagne emit carbon dioxide. Let the true believers try the real thing in one of the extreme seasons so they can appreciate the great benefits we take for granted when using all of our carbon fuels and foods.

“Instead of sneering at human achievements they should salute the people who keep the lights on for the other 364 days of the year.

“Our salute will be to turn on every light on our property, and we urge all supporters to do the same.

“Australia gets almost 90% of its electricity from hydrocarbon fuels – black coal, brown coal, gas and oil. If the German Greens close their coal and nuclear power they can fall back on gas from Russia, nuclear power from France or hydro from Scandinavia when the lights go out.

“Australia has no prudent neighbours to bludge on if we gamble our future electricity needs on sunbeams, sea breezes and ceiling insulation. If we attempt the massive cuts in carbon dioxide emissions demanded by the deep greens we will see Australia headed for the Romanian power rationing experience – during the Ceaucescu regime in Romania, each house was limited to ONE 25 watt bulb for all of their light.

“All over the world we have aging power stations and an orchestrated campaign by a few warm and well-fed agitators to harass, delay and deter construction of new power facilities.

“Such a campaign can only have one result – many ‘Earth Night’ blackouts are assured.

“So we support ‘Blackout Night’ to prepare our population for the dark days ahead.

“Take a look at a place that celebrates ‘Earth Hour’ every night – Stalinist North Korea. Compare it to free South Korea that keeps its people warm, well fed and working (with the help of Australian coal):

PDF version: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/earth-hour-2010.pdf [PDF, 102KB]

“The idea that raising the cost of energy will induce the emergence of new technologies could only be proposed by people completely ignorant of economic history and the history of technology. I cannot think of a single instance of this happening. Taken to its logical conclusion we can argue that the Romans would have developed the steam engine — if not the car — if only the emperors had have had the foresight to put a heavy tax on horses and bullocks…

“And if taxes are all that is needed to bring about technological progress why haven’t heavy petrol taxes in Europe led to new transport technologies?”

Gerard Jackson, Economics Editor Brookes News
http://brookesnews.com/100103alternativenergy.html

The Australian Government is spending at least $800 million per year on research related to Climate Change. The cash is being sprayed across the country so that no university or research centre is missing out. More than 5,000 researchers are beneficiaries of government climate largess, but still they cannot forecast the weather more than a few days ahead.

Where does the money go? No one appears to know, so Carbon Sense asked Bob Greenelsh to see what he could dig up, and Bob has presented his preliminary findings.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the big winner with government expenditure running at the rate of $400 million a year. After adding funds from the Coal Industry, the total for CCS is probably closer to $800 million a year. Other researchers are getting cash for projects on alternative energy, climate modelling, disaster predicting and research into the impact of climate change on subjects of interest to the researchers. For example, there is an intriguing $760,000 grant for research into the impact of climate change on native orchids.

With so much money being spent by so many, involving so many different organisations and on a vast variety of projects the obvious question is, does anyone really know what is going on? Is the cash being properly spent and will there be a proper reckoning of results and benefits? A second question is, do all the researchers believe that man-made CO2 is causing global warming and that such warming is going to cause other disasters? It is a good bet that their main focus is on getting cash for their project and knowing that there is global warming stimulus package they include “global warming” in the project application.

With those magic words the money will soon be on its way and they can do their stuff and forget about global warming.

See the initial report by Bob Greenelsh: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/research-spending-greenelsh.pdf [PDF, 35KB]

1. Fuelling Future Famines

This generation of pampered westerners is the first tribe in the history of the world that seems determined to destroy its ability to produce food.

The history of the human race has always been a battle for protein in the face of the continual challenge of natural climate change. Nothing has changed for this generation, except the wildfire spread of a destructive new religion that requires the sacrifice of food producers on a global warming altar.

Food creation needs solar energy, land, carbon dioxide and water. All four food resources are under threat…

The article as PDF: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/fuelling-future-famines-article.pdf [PDF, 78 KB]

2. The Monckton-Plimer Tour of Australia

3. There are Two Dead Elephants in Parliament

To find out more about this spectacular event see: http://carbon-sense.com/2010/02/14/dead-elephants/

4. The People’s Network beats the Media Monoliths and the Government Propaganda Machine

The climate consensus promoted by Big Business, Big Government, Big Media and Big Academia has come unstuck. The shoddy work and partisan promotion by IPCC and its cronies has been exposed, the romantic idea of powering the world with sunbeams and sea breezes has collided with engineering reality, and the public has caught a whiff of the true meaning of green politics – taxes, ration cards and big brother controlling every aspect of our lives…

Read the full newsletter: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/fuelling-future-famines.pdf [PDF, 105KB]

Touring politicians have a habit of making wild promises in international forums, leaving the difficult engineering consequences to overloaded power engineers and the unpalatable cost consequences to the suffering consumers.

Peter Lang is a professional with more than 40 years experience in the energy industry. His experience includes coal, oil, gas, hydro, geothermal, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste disposal and energy end use management.

Peter has previously written on:

• Wind Power Realities at: http://carbon-sense.com/2009/02/17/wind-power-costs/
• Solar Power Realities at: http://carbon-sense.com/2009/07/04/solar-realities/
• And more Solar Power at: http://carbon-sense.com/2009/09/04/solar-realities-addendum/

Now he looks at some inconvenient realities concerning the consequences for electricity generation if the government tries to achieve their unrealistic and pointless cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.

The paper compares five “energy mix” options with a “business as usual” case for electricity generation in Australia from 2010 to 2050. The options involve mixes of coal, gas, nuclear, wind and solar thermal technologies. The analysis indicates that continuing with the current mix of electricity sources (mainly coal) will provide the cheapest electricity. Gas, the other carbon fuel, has the next higher cost. All of the non-coal options (nuclear, solar and wind) will substantially increase electricity costs with solar being the most expensive.

Nuclear power is the only feasible option that could achieve the promised cuts in emissions. Wind and solar are very high cost options with little hope of achieving the emissions cuts promised, either alone or in combination.

Viv Forbes

The full paper, Emission Cuts Realities – Electricity Generation, can be seen at: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/emissions-generation-lang.pdf [PDF, 206 KB]

Terry Cardwell has run coal fired power stations. He knows about the costs, efficiency and emissions from modern power stations. And he is frustrated at the lies, distortions and myths being spread about power generation. Being retired, he has no axe to grind, no master to serve and no agenda to push except concern for our future.

“We are all greenies in one form or another and care very much about our planet. The difference is most of us are realistic. Not in some idyllic utopia where everything can be made perfect by standing around holding a banner, chanting a slogan and being a general pain in the backside.”

For some plain truths from Terry on power and pollution see:http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/coal-power-realities.pdf [PDF. 29 KB]

Update: here is an interview by Michael Smith from Brisbane radio station 4BC with Terry Cardwell, 11 Jan 2010: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/terry-cardwell-4bc-20100111.mp3 [MP3, 993 KB; 8:28 min]