That's nuthin Macca

I live on the light and heat of a 12 watt bulb with a smartie on me tongue.

Nyah Nyah

Poida
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpS31FJO8_o

Reaching a level of 50% renewables is relatively easy. Concentrated solar thermal with molten salt storage can provide a significant amount of power on demand.

Reaching a level of 100% renewables is much harder. Probably the best way of doing so would be to install much more capacity than we need, and have some industrial process using the excess that can be curtailed when necessary. But we shouldn't let worries about how to reach 100% delay our reaching 50%.

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Peter Lang, however many times you post that link, it remains illogical conjecture unsupported by the facts. Sustainability, and indeed modern societies, don't require EROEI to reach some arbitrary level.

Wouldn't it be nice if governments formulate development ideas. Once ideas were formulated, sent emails to environmental interests, to argue over ideas by emails in secret, at least until ideas had all interested parties agreements.

I tend to believe governments create ideas that governments have no intentions of completing. Environmentalists get to look good in the media, protesting government plans. One more rolled over story line theme distraction among many rolled over story themes that goes no where. Democracy gets another opportunity to look like democracy in action.

When discussing energy, it pays to remember that electricity is only about 1/3rd of the energy we consume. 100% of what, Richard Di Natale? 100% of what, ACT? I suspect that both figures relate to only electricity and that ACTEWAGL, or whatever it is called these days, will still be selling gas in the ACT once the mythical 100% has been reached and celebrated.

26% of what, Mr Prime Minister? I think that it is total energy... or is it? And 26% of what total? the peak reached in 2005, or the trough 5 years later, as Australia de-industrialised? That still leaves 3/4 of the problem unaddressed, ie pretty much a failure, as also ACT and the Greens and Labor and their pretense of 100% of a third of the problem. They all are failures.

IWe have comprehensively stuffed our energy policies nationally and globally for over 50 years. We have demonised and outlawed the only source of electricity that is carbon free and scaleable to meet the needs of industrialised societies. That is nuclear power, which just happens to be very much safer than even bicycles or rooftop solar or anything except hydro on existing pondages.

Thanks, Mrs Caldicott. Thanks for nothing.

Hi JohnBennetts

Some very valid points.

Also we need to remember that these uncertain percentages concerning Australia become further academic when adding in the pollution loads of the rest of the world - which generate a pollution input into Australia.

China's economic downturn is forcing China away from China's highly publicised greenhouse gas goals - which were supportable in better Chinese economic times. This means China and India are rapidly expanding coal and other smoke fuel - less solar and less wind energy growth.

The Chinese middle class also want a level of car ownership per capita that is equitable with the West - meaning ONLY 500 million cars in China by 2030? Maybe a similar number in India.

The greenie assumption that Australia can environmentally-morally shame the world into being a good greenhouse example like Australia was always rubbish like Rudd was.

Pete

Aidan says:"....install much more capacity than we need, and have some industrial process using the excess..."

Shouldn't the industrial process be a needed one (hence come under the heading of need rather than excess), or, do we just make up something to waste energy on to justify the whole mad caper?

Outrider says: "...power plants that burn nuclear waste for standby grid."

Forget about 100% renewables. It's a farcical idea, and building nuclear to supplement renewables, well that's even more farcical. You can't be a bit pregnant, it's all or nothing with nuclear so making renewables redundant on the grid.