There seems to be a contradiction when Australia is held out as both a leader in rooftop solar and a laggard in renewables generally. The evidence at present is that we will not achieve 80+% renewable electricity this decade nor will we go prime time on green steel, green cement and 50% EV sales. Some ideas like hydrogen export are simply daft to the point you have to wonder if lunatics have taken over the asylum.

I suspect we will have different forms of energy rationing by 2030, politely described as 'demand management'. When coal is gone I wonder if big users like aluminium will depart Australian. No problem just send the coal and alumina to China and the emissions will go on their books, along with jobs and profits. It would be great if two or three models of SMR went on sale by 2030 but the signs aren't there yet.

The “passion” they have is more about ripping us off financially and controlling our lives through fear and scarcity (of electricity).

Disagree, it's not renewables per se. but large project money making contracts/the profit curve.

If it was/were building and running SMRs or MSE thorium, the queue to participate could be larger and longer. Given the 61% and rising, Australian approval rate.

If councils and various conglomerates and or co-ops were invited to buy and operate, walk away safe, Chinese MSR thorium or MSR nuclear waste burning projects. We'd have to issue numbers and operate a first come, first served, queue.

Available at fully imported prices we never ever could possibly replicate as, Australian made. The Chinese have perfected walk away safe, MSR thorium and have hung the, for sale sign out!
Alan B.

It shouldn't be too long now before this furphy ends !

Nuclear waste is mostly harmless low rad uranium with a few nasty transgenics included. the latter able to be separated and used to kick start MSR thorium/ and or irradiate all manner of sealed/cryovaced fresh food staples.

Some of the sealing would need to be rigid or long-term store/shelf life. Eggs, bread, butter, bread, soft cake and what have you, fish, fowl, meat, veges, fruit, nuts, flour, etc., etc.

The author states:

" Every component exists for generating the huge quantities of clean electricity needed. Photovoltaic solar energy converters, huge wind turbines, hydroelectric dams for storage or generation, electrochemical batteries – these favoured elements of the transition are all known and are elegant examples of modern science and technology."

And: "This is an enormous technological challenge, too often trivialised by common misunderstandings of success rates in turning novel laboratory ideas into full scale commercial industrial processes."

The author was worked for CSIRO. This organisation is on the right-wing politicians hit list.

The right-wing politicians will do anything in their power to interfere with these "elegant examples of modern science and technology."