Bowen can’t ignore Sweden’s transition backflip

Thank you Peta Credlin and The Australian for continuing to question the viability of our critical production and distribution of power (“Sweden’s Green Dream a warning”, 29/6). Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s ideas will certainly cause massive environmental damage from the quasi legal trespassing of huge towers to rampaging bushfires from the thousands of kilometres of power lines, as energy is harvested from far and wide and sent to the 70 per cent of Australians who live in only the eight most populous cities.

Unfortunately, Bowen seems blessed with some transcendental gift whereby he can control the inevitable changes in the world’s climate – but not population – using the weather albeit by the hands of our questionable construction industry at the cost of billions.

Is it possible for The Australian to publish a progressive graph, say, on the first of each month, showing the targets for the installation of cables, wind and solar devices and the actual delivery and installation of them and any other relevant information?

Marshall Phillips, Mosman, NSW

I read with interest Peta Credlin’s article on Sweden’s decision to switch off the 100 per cent renewable energy goal. It seems Sweden’s track record of hard-headed, fact-based decision-making continues. Along with this, Sweden’s Covid policy, compulsory military training, self-sufficiency with military equipment, strong industrial base, nuclear power, achieved with a population of 10 million, and a stable political system are all reasons that Australia’s present political leadership should model our country on Sweden, starting now.

Keith Johnson, Ballina, NSW

Peta Credlin’s article highlights how a sensible government, that is able to adapt to current conditions, has realised how stupid its previous renewables policy was. Unfortunately, Bowen doesn’t have the sense to follow suit.

Peter Shergold, Kewarra Beach, Qld

Peta Credlin is right to remind us of the enormous challenge Energy Minister Bowen lumped us with a year ago – that we would need to install 22,000 solar panels every day and 40 wind turbines every month in order to reach his renewable targets for 2030.

But that was a year ago and nothing like that is happening. Therefore, it would be wise to update the targets. We now need to install 25,000 solar panels every day and 45 wind turbines every month to reach Bowen’s target. And we have one year less in which to install 28,000 kilometres of new transmission lines. Australia is certainly not the only country on a road to nowhere.

Geoff Ellis, Smithfield, Qld

Sweden’s U-turn on nuclear mirrors that of Japan and South Korea. Italy is moving in the same direction. More generally, the international pendulum is swinging towards nuclear.

However many Australians adopt the Basil Fawlty position: don’t mention nuclear. Those who support strong action on climate change insist that only renewables plus storage should power the grid, despite being unable to point to a single nation where this feat is even close to being achieved despite trillions in expenditure on renewables and trillions in subsidies for renewables.

Engineers Australia could enlighten the public about technological advances making nuclear energy safer and more cost-effective, but they seem to have zero public profile on nuclear. Internationally, support for nuclear power is rising, most strongly among those who also insist on the need to reduce CO2 emissions: young people, who are uninterested in ideological arguments against nuclear power from another era. Australian policymakers should take an intellectually honest position, remove the moratorium on nuclear power and let the market decide whether investing in nuclear power is worth the risk.

W. McColl, Roseville, NSW

Peta Credlin is a voice of reason in a sea of ill informed, common sense deniers. As she rightly highlights, it’s not about the climate, people or the planet – politics is all that matters.

Tom Moylan, Melbourne, Vic