Let’s pray Grim Reaper can drive wind and solar subsidies into the valley of death
Grim Reaper killing renewables. AdamBandt.com, September 18:
(Greens MP Adam Bandt said Energy Minister) Angus Taylor is the Grim Reaper for renewable energy. To avoid a valley of death for renewable energy, we need to extend … (renewable energy target subsidies) … New renewables are going up in Australia at record rates … due to the RET … (and are) a big driver of future power bill cuts.
RET cuts bills? Michael Shellenberger, Forbes.com, April 23:
Between 2009 and 2017, the price of solar panels per watt declined by 75 per cent while the price of wind turbines per watt declined by 50 per cent. … (yet) the price of electricity in places that deployed significant quantities of renewables increased dramatically … by 51 per cent in Germany … from 2006 to 2016; 24 per cent in California … from 2011 to 2017 … (and) over 100 per cent in Denmark since 1995 … (Solar and wind drive up power prices because they are) fundamentally unreliable … (requiring) natural gas plants, hydro-electric dams, batteries or … (other) reliable power … (as a back-up. In 2013, economist Leon) Hirth predicted that the economic value of wind on the European grid would decline 40 per cent once it becomes 30 per cent of electricity while the value of solar would drop by 50 per cent when it got to just 15 per cent. In 2017, the share of electricity coming from wind and solar was 53 per cent in Denmark, 26 per cent in Germany, and 23 per cent in California. Denmark and Germany have the first and second most expensive electricity in Europe.
Even more renewables. James Rainey, NBC News, September 10:
Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed two measures designed to push … (California) to 100 per cent renewable electricity … by 2045.
Even higher bills. Robert Bryce, National Review, September 15:
The high cost of renewable-energy mandates was noted by a handful of California’s Democratic legislators during the debate over (renewables) … Adam Gray of Merced … (said) the supporters of … (these bills) were more motivated “to impress national progressives rather than poor residents in rural communities who would face higher electric bills”.
Bipartisan bullying. David Crowe, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 30:
Victorian Liberal MP Julia Banks sparked a furore … (after) declaring she had experienced bullying and intimidation by Liberal and Labor MPs.
No mention of the Labor bullies? Caitlin Fitzsimmons, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 19:
MP Julia Banks … accused colleagues in the Dutton camp of bullying and intimidation in the lead-up to the spill that ousted Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.
Decoy mistakes. Ephraim Hardcastle, Daily Mail, September 20:
Asked to name his worst mistake … (Boris Johnson) told guests at a dinner in Washington: “My strategy is to litter my career with decoy mistakes — nobody knows which one to attack.”
Strategy seems to be working. Rod Liddle, The Sun, September 13:
Theresa May has been forced to deny her team has been circulating a Conservative Party dossier of Bad Things Boris Has Done or Said, so they can hole him below the waterline. Frankly, most of the stuff in this dossier makes me like him more …
Life after death. Stephanie Chalmers, abc.net.au, September 18:
AMP has admitted that it continues to deduct life-insurance premiums from deceased customers’ superannuation.
Haunting the claims office? Brian McKeown, letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, September 19:
Has a dead person ever made a claim?