, Australia’s biggest electricity generator, is a useful metaphor for the current state of the national energy market. Operationally, the business is flat out trying to manage the gaggle of black swan events besetting energy markets.
These coal and gas shortages are driving up electricity prices. Industrial customers and small energy retailers are getting smashed.It might seem an intemperate time to escalate the national climate class war between affluent ideologues and price-sensitive “working families”. The former informally led by wealthy activists, who have convinced themselves that the solution to climate change is more ambition and disrupting the cabal between fossil fuel industries and governments.
When AGL regroups for its strategic review in September, it’s safe to assume Cannon-Brookes will push for the closure dates of Loy Yang and Bayswater to be brought forward. It will be a symbolic gesture.The closure of most remaining coal-fired generators in Australia will not be determined by Cannon-Brookes, or anyone else for that matter. They will exit when a full suite of cost-competitive, cleaner technology is available to replace them.
You can’t fix climate change with an overdose of moral indignation. Replacing coal will require not only a substantial increase in renewable generation, but big upgrades in transmission, back-up generation and storage of all sizes and types.
REPHRASE - OPINION. Wealthy activists are moving at speed to implement cleaner tech that will shut coal-fired generators decades before old-school fossil-fuel managers can imagine.
Anyone remembering something called the OZONE HOLE?
And how wonderful that wealthy activists even try to circumvent democratic processes - isn't that what oligarchs do?