In his letter ‘NSW Solar and Renewable Energy Summit’ Mr MacDonald MLC claims that grid-connected solar is partly to blame for rising electricity costs. This is simply not true as per the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) that recommended electricity price increases.
As IPART explains, rising electricity costs are due to upgrades that are needed as a result of ageing infrastructure and an increase in peak demand. Peak demand refers to those times when energy use spikes, generally on really hot or cold days when air conditioners are heavily used.
The Australian PV Association has shown that solar power is most productive precisely on those blasting hot summer days and, because it is distributed across the grid network, it can actually help to meet peak demand and prevent blackouts. Therefore, installing more solar power in strategic places would mean that we wouldn’t have to spend so much on upgrading the grid.
Mr MacDonald raises another point when he says “I hope that the solar industry survives and prospers (like all renewables) but only when they can stand on they’re own merits”. Unlike Mr MacDonald, many people understand that, because renewable energy is a new, emerging industry essential to Australia’s ability to supply clean and renewable energy in the future, we need to support its establishment. The Government too takes this stance, recommending that $5-10 billion of the Carbon Price revenue be invested into renewables. I would like to remind those who share Mr MacDonald’s viewpoint that a renewables industry is not viable until it stands on its own two feet, that our Government still provides over $12 billion of subsidies toward fossil fuel production and consumption each year (see Institute of Sustainable Futures, UTS).
As for Pat Lightfoot’s comment (‘Scott is on the right track?’) regarding wind energy not functioning too well in cold weather – well, I guess this is why wind turbines were developed and are heavily used throughout Scandinavia and Germany (where it snows in winter)? Oooops. Although it is true that solar and wind do not operate 24 hours a day, it is also true that no coal-fired power station operates 24 hours a day either. What the Carbon Price legislation is proposing is that we move to renewable energy, supplying as much as we can through means that are clean and don’t require digging up precious agricultural land. Think about it from a security and stability point of view: what’s better, one massive coal fired power station or a diverse range of wind, solar, hydro power across the country?
Research from the Climate Institute indicates the move to renewables would bring 2000 jobs to the New England. I would also like to remind folks that many in our electorate do support a move to renewables as demonstrated by the 250+ people who showed up to the Town Hall in support of strong investment in renewabes from the Carbon Price. Tony Windsor has been instrumental in ensuring a strong outcome for renewables in the proposed Carbon Price. If the legislation is passed, we will finally see Australia embrace a clean energy future.
I would like to encourage people to make sure their opinions are backed up by research before spreading them willy-nilly. Unfounded claims will not help people understand the crucial issues at hand, nor will they help our country move forward.
Jarra Hicks, Armidale
