Heard about the shock jock who’s now a clean energy champion? That’s me

Australians want the facts on our energy system. We are not interested in ideology, we just want the cheapest power bills possible and a secure energy system that keeps the lights on and allows our farmers, manufacturers, and businesses to flourish.

I have spent my whole career taking complex information, cutting through the jargon and politics, and telling people the truth. I’m not an environmentalist, I’m a pragmatist. I want commonsense solutions for Australian families and Australian businesses, and an energy system that’s reliable, affordable, and sustainable.

Chris O’Keefe: “Nuclear power is too expensive, takes too long, and will generate too little electricity to bridge the gap left by coal.”Credit: Graphic: Aresna Villanueva

Before network and retail charges, if you just used clean energy, it would cost an average Australian family $800 a year on their bill. Coal would cost $1300 a year, and nuclear power would cost an Australian family $1500 a year. How many reports do we need that tell us the same thing?

Our energy system is evolving, much like a plug-in hybrid car. It will be largely powered by clean energy with batteries and pumped hydro until the moment we need gas.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) concedes that gas is necessary to fill the final gap and back up clean energy sources. It’s not a bad thing – it means an energy grid that integrates both new and existing technologies, ensuring there’s always a reliable back-up.

I am a patriotic Australian, and I believe that families who have spent generations working well-paid jobs in industries such as mining and energy should be able to see their children working in the same sectors rather than moving to the cities for work. Clean energy gives these families that opportunity.

Approximately 40,000 new workers are needed to build its projects over the next five years. This is not a theoretical figure – it’s not decades away, it’s now. The businesses are ready to spend the money. All they need is continued political will to make it happen.

One clean energy project will bring in hundreds of jobs for electricians, concreters, truck drivers, crane operators, and civil engineers in regional towns and suburbs of our major cities. This is a pipeline of work that can benefit every corner of the country.

Farmers, too, stand to gain. They can be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in extra revenue to host wind turbines or solar panels on their properties. It’s an immediate way for our farmers to mitigate the financial impact of the inevitable droughts and floods they have combated for generations. Australian sheep, beef, canola, and wheat farmers now have the choice to add an extra dimension to their businesses by becoming wind and solar farmers, using parcels of their land that aren’t suited to their main crops or livestock.

And it doesn’t stop there. Neighbouring landholders can also benefit from direct payments by clean energy companies, and local community funds have been established to improve facilities and services in the areas hosting renewable energy projects. The industry is working with local communities to ensure these projects benefit everyone. But we want to do more. We want to improve community engagement and make sure that Australians from all walks of life have a say in what these projects look like in their local areas.

Let’s face the facts: an operational nuclear reactor is, at best, 20 years away. So what does Australia do in the meantime? Almost every single coal-fired power station is expected to close in the next decade, with only a few exceptions. Waiting for nuclear power won’t fill the shortfall in energy generation that’s coming. Keeping coal stations open will cost billions in taxpayer handouts, and given their age, that investment will not guarantee they continue generating power as we need them to. To borrow another car analogy, it’s like spending a fortune on an old car trying to keep it on the road – no matter how much money you throw at it, it’s still likely to break down.

That’s the reality of where we are at. So doesn’t it make sense to continue building clean energy projects that can be done quickly, affordably, and sustainably? By the end of the year, it’s likely that half of all Australia’s energy needs will be powered by clean energy. Shouldn’t we just keep going?

Nuclear power is too expensive, takes too long, and will generate too little electricity to bridge the gap left by coal. It won’t come close to making up for the shortfall in energy generation we’re facing.

It was only 12 years ago that the country’s first grid-scale solar farm, the Greenough River Solar Farm near Geraldton in Western Australia, became operational. Now, almost 50 per cent of our energy comes from renewables. This is not just a national triumph; it demonstrates speed and efficiency. It is what Australians expect: practical and fast solutions to a complicated problem. That is what clean energy delivers, and that is why I made the choice to advocate for the industry.

Chris O’Keefe is the national spokesperson for the Clean Energy Council. He’s a former journalist and 2GB radio host.

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