Bazz I support Nuclear power, we are not Japan and unlikely to ignore safety as they did at every stage from planning on.
I can not however support the view Governments right down to green energy fans are lunatics.
For if we do not want or need solar power billions has been wasted around the world.
Battery,s , long long ago have been in use far back when the only power for broadcast receivers was battery,s.
Even solar panels have gone ahead in leaps and bounds.
And a day will come that battery,s will be so far removed from todays.
I have the greatest confidence in our youth.
On a personal basis cutting my bill, by one third ensures I gain.
Just think, if Abbott got his one million more homes fitted how much we would return to grid, at my system, if all the others matched it?
7 million power units a day.

There is a problem with the amount of unreliable generation that can
be connected to the network.
As I understand it as a non-expert the problem is the time difference
between the rate at which the wind drops or rises and the time it takes
for standby power to ramp up or down.
The solar & wind can ramp up & down in just single digit minutes but
backup generation can take between 30 minutes and a couple of hours.

Even if my times are way out, there is still a big difference that
cannot avoid a network failure like they had in Germany some years back.

Returning to the OP, for the immediate future I cannot see how the risks, which include government (legislative) and new technology risks, could deliver a return to me in five years. Five years is stretching it where technology is changing rapidly and where overseas suppliers control the Aussie market for their benefit not ours.

Those who got in early should do OK, but only through grossly inflated, subsidised input prices.

So enhancements like home en ergy storage is not on. It will take a great leap in technology to make storage worthwhile. At present the risks and costs are not worth it.

Energy suppliers will go down the path of giving price directions to consumers. Unfortunately consumers must pay the price for overenthusiatic migration that continues to over-stretch infrastructure. Power and water will be expensive and restrictions, price and availability, will apply. That is the future. Kevin13 is a raging promoter of his 'Big Australia' too.

Bazz as a worker a very long time ago I worked on the construction of a power station.
Not all that long ago as a union official I watched a new one built next door.
One of a few many others to come, it is remote controlled.
Gas fired unmanned it is turned on a peak demand.
IF solar ever gets to the stage daylight generation is not wanted a fully operational power station could become one used only at night.
Too if made legal, those of us with roof panels could use our own daylight generated power, at the point of switching to the grid, to charge battery we then switch to at night.
Again a man once said every thing that could be invented had been , not so.
This area is in its infancy, and it will move in great leaps and bounds.

Hello Belly,
The gas fired stations that are going to be used as gap fillers can
get up and running very quick, but still not as fast as a bank of
clouds can cover an area with clouds.
They could use weather radar to watch for cloud cover coming and ramp
up in preparation. However wind would be another problem as they could
not know reliably when the wind was going to drop.

There are some pretty drastic situations involved with sudden power
failures in a city. Think of hospitals, office buildings etc etc.
Sure, No-Break generator sets are old hat but they cost a lot of
money and a lot more to have running on standby.
The main network problem is cascading failure around the network as
sudden load changes exceed local current limits and trip out breakers.

I don't agree that there is much room for very large improvement in
anything, we are reaching already the theoretical limits to many things
such as chemical reactions, mechanical devices and even computer speeds.
We are coming up against fundamental limits.

Bazz while much of what you say hes merit lets talk.
Just a few years ago a 20 watt panel cost over 700 dollars.
We, my group, are paying $250 for a 250 watt 24 volt one now.
In tossing this subject around last night on the air , our group includes electrician and more, we invented, well for us, a new thought.
We presumed in time our extra generated power would all be paid for at my level, 6 cents.
And are about to home brew, [make ourselves], large battery chargers.
and use that power not sell it back.
In charging battery,s we then switch to at night, night use only.
By washing cooking and only needing lights fridge freezer at night, TV too, our first trial will tell us.
We get battery,s free, ex remote site.
I however run new car battery,s