Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash.
I have been concerned for a long time about the rush to renewables and the impacts it will have on our energy security.
The energy markets have already indicated that in times where solar and wind are not actively producing, the price of energy skyrockets.
The Labor Government is pushing for a larger proportion of our energy supply to be sourced from renewables. These renewables are intermittent sources of energy which have proven to be costly, and as we will soon find out to be unreliable – as suggested by peak bodies and government authorities.
The NSW Government is set to extend the life of the Eraring coal-fired power station because they expect blackouts in NSW otherwise.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has been forced to bid for emergency supplies because of rushed closing of coal-fired power stations, and the delays in the new and unreliable renewable projects. And the Minister for Climate Change & Energy believes that emergency supplies are just our ‘interim reserves’.
In order to replace coal, we would have to build more capacity than the amount of coal in the system because of the intermittent nature of the renewable energy – talk about being unproductive.
Let’s power our nation sustainably – and when I say sustainably, I refer to its original meaning: the ability to remain productive over the long term.
That's justice as I see it.
