Lucky country needs policy shift to reliable electricity system

Victoria’s largest electricity consumer, the Portland aluminium smelter, is right to raise concerns that batteries are ill-equipped to reliably back up renewable energy (“Gas, not batteries: Alcoa chief”, 2/5).

This is not just an opinion, it is grounded in sound engineering principles. As Australia targets an 82 per cent share of renewables in its energy mix, batteries are expected to fill the critical role of backup. However, if those batteries are charged using weather-dependent sources such as solar and wind, then they too become weather-dependent by default.

For heavy industries such as aluminium smelting, which require continuous high-volume power, this level of uncertainty is unacceptable. Some propose gas as a backup for renewables and batteries, but this approach is not cost-effective. Gas infrastructure and gas reserves must remain on standby, incurring high fixed costs whether it is used or not.

The fact remains that the reliability of renewables backed by dispatchable gas is significantly higher than when backed by batteries alone. For industries that cannot afford power interruptions, reliability must come before ideology.

Don McMillan, Paddington, Qld

Chris Uhlmann’s article should be mandatory reading for all our politicians (“Blackout that should keep all of us awake”. 1 /5).

We were once the lucky country. We once produced quality goods and we once produced coal and gas, which not only guaranteed our electricity needs but also protected us from blackouts, which occurred in South Australia in 2016 and more recently in Spain. We fear to use nuclear power for our energy needs though countries around the world are using modern nuclear reactors as part of their energy mix without any concerns.

We will rely more and more on wind and solar power that are useless when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. If I could be convinced that these sources of power could work, I would willingly pay more for our energy costs. However, we are paying more for no actual benefit.

Uhlmann’s thorough explanation of how an electricity system works should be a wake-up call for those in power. Victoria and NSW have seen the light; they are keeping coal-fired plants running. We still have time to stop this march towards wind and solar insanity without coal, gas and nuclear backup.

Marie-Antoniette Assenza, Weetangera, ACT

The recent collapse of the grid in renewables-powered Spain and Portugal is a timely warning to an Australia with our own renewables program. The current nuclear ban means we are not particularly savvy about the rapidly growing developments of nuclear generation around the world or their suitability for adoption here.

There is considerable progress in the development of thorium reactors and small modular reactors, for example. It is these kinds of developments that could well prove commercially viable and provide the baseload needed for our grid. Lifting of the nuclear ban would stimulate our own research and development, and thus enable us to acquire nuclear generators most suitable for our needs.

Peter Clarke, Corinda, Qld

The heavy publicity given to the brief blackout in Spain and Portugal this week is not surprising, given our own steady shift to renewables.

Yes, renewables that have not been planned or executed properly can leave you with no margin. A combination of weather-caused transmission system failure, followed by the dominoes of poorly managed wind assets, might cause a system collapse.

It is also not impossible to have this situation occur with large fossil-fuel baseload generators that suffer some sort of failure.

This latest occurrence is not, as some may wish to claim, some kind of proof that renewables don’t or won’t work.

The South Australian event of 2016 (sparked by extreme weather) resulted in more effective regulatory and market mechanisms to protect systems, and the long-term interests of consumers.

Fiona Colin, Malvern East, Vic

There have been many electricity crashes before renewables came on the scene. The world didn’t walk away from fossil fuel and nuclear power stations because New York City suffered a massive blackout in 1977.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic