22.3 The Cost Of Firming Intermittent Wind & Solar Power
Despite all the claims that wind and solar power are cheaper than coal, the bottom line after proper accounting shows that the real cost of “firming” intermittent wind and solar power will exceed $400 per MWh.
Background
We are told that coal power is on the way out because it can’t compete with wind and solar in the bidding process to supply energy to the grid.
Kerry Schott, recently the Chair of the Energy Security Board, summed up the situation in the Fin Review 23 Feb. 22.
The challenge to the commercial viability for the coal-fired assets is not going away…The renewables increase is mainly intended to replace retiring coal generation and there is no sign of any slowdown in this capacity replacement.
However in the real world
22.2 Human Rights and the RE Supply Chain
Critical issues
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report titled Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang claims that the Chinese government had facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far western region of Xinjiang to factories across the country.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo some 40,000 children as young as four toil with their parents for less than $2 a day up to 12 hours a day. https://www.cfact.org/2020/08/09/renewable-energys-staggering-human-costs/
The Commonwealth of Australia – Modern Slavery Act No 153, 2018 Act requires entities based, or operating, in Australia, which have an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100
22.1 Environmental Damage During Construction of RE Facilities
February 2022
Serious environmental issues arise at ten stages of RE production, from mining raw materials to the disposal of turbines, batteries and solar panels at the end of their working lives.
Critical issues at the phase of construction
RE facilities, including the poles and wires required to carry the power to market from remote locations, demand massive amounts of land, concrete, steel, and metals including the essential rare earths.
A single wind turbine contains around 900 tons of steel, 2,500 tons of concrete and 45 tons of
nonrecyclable plastic. Transport of the materials adds to the environmental impact, as does the disposal of the components when the facility is decommissioned.
The AEMO Integrated System Plan to double
21.2 The Dark Side of Renewable Energy
A detailed look at why renewable energy is neither economically nor environmentally viable from Bill Stinson:
Environment-Destruction-The-Dark-Side-of-Renewable-Energy-1.pdf
BACK TO THE LIST OF BRIEFING NOTES
An Open Letter Concerning AEMO’s 2022 Integrated System Plan
Correspondence with AEMO on the Integrated System Plan.
- Letter_Reliability_Assessment_of_the_AEMO_2022_ISP_22_August_2022.pdf
- 20220913_AEMO_Letter_to_Dr_James_Taylor_final.pdf
- Letter_Response_to_AEMO_ISP_Reliability_IES_3Oct2022.pdf
- AEMOs_Renewables_Plan_Just_Cant_Cut_It_Nov_2022.pdf
- A_Reliability_Assessment_of_the_AEMO_2022_Integrated_System_Plan_29_Nov_2022.pdf
- The_Cost_of_Battery_Firming__AEMOs_2030_Plan_and_Beyond.pdf