Friday, November 9, 2012

How to have a prosperous South Australia


20 20 Vision for South Australia: What goals are sensible for year 2020? How do we get a more prosperous SA and Australia when we have ever increasing power and water bills? The more we have to pay for utilities, the less money we have left over to pay for other goods, for fun things and luxuries (home, car, holidays etc).

To be more prosperous we MUST have the cheapest electricity and water possible. BUT the reverse is happening, noticed? The reason is that we have some very stupid politicians in Labor/Green Governments at the State and Federal levels following an anti-carbon eco-religious belief system.

In South Australia, let's have as a goal the cheapest electricity possible. First thing to do at the Federal level is to get rid of the RET bill, which specifies that 20% of our energy must come from renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro etc. Renewable energy is good stuff, particularly hydro (none in SA), but the Greens are TOO impatient. Renewable energy will come gradually but it doesn't need subsidies from Government that distort the energy market.

In South Australia we must develop our coal and gas resources for power generation; coal for base load generation and gas for covering peak loads. There must be a STOP to any further Government subsidy of wind farms and any large solar plants (eg solar/gas plant at Pt Augusta) which are fundamentally unsound economically. Plans can be made for phasing out the worst and most inefficient wind farms and have the landscape restored to the original pristine state (good Green jobs here for redundant Climate Change bureaucrats). It will take a decade going in this new direction to get reduced power bills and a sensible energy policy established in this State.

More needs to be said regarding coal exploration and development and modernization of existing coal plants, and the possible role of nuclear power. That's enough for today, but then we are only half way to prosperity .... there is WATER to worry about and what a supply disaster that has been!!!!