Hi Max,

Renewables cheaper than coal you say? How is that when there is no working model, just one of Andy B's error laden fantasies? According to the US EIA, renewables are non-dispatchable, and making them so could be twice the cost of dispatchable nuclear. I guess that is why you have to do back of the envelope calculations for dispatchable renewables Max, as not even the redoubtable Andy B is up to telling such porkies.

Oh, and this year alone Queensland will collect over ten billion dollars in coal royalties. In contrast, twice the cost non-dispatchable renewables might be receiving up to seven billion a year in taxpayer subsidies, all for the purpose of destroying Australia's economy.

http://www.spectator.com.au/2022/04/renewables-subsidies-22-billion-by-2030/

Hi Fester,
“According to the US EIA, renewables are non-dispatchable, and making them so could be twice the cost of dispatchable nuclear.”
That's the second time you've misunderstood the EIA. What's going on?

Your memory is really short. We’ve already done this so I’ll copy and paste because it didn’t sink in last time.

(But before I do – typical that you get this subsidies crap from Spectator. They’re a right-biased group. Anyway, what was it one of your fellow deniers said? Something like "I don't see subsidies - I see investment in national infrastructure!" Touche. http://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-spectator-uk/ )

EIA: On Page 9, Table 1B shows “Total System LCOE or LCOS” as nuclear being $88.24 and “Solar Standalone c” being $36.49. Read the C, and that includes 4 hours batteries! (Blakers would never recommend batteries for grid storage when PHES is cheaper.) So that’s 2.4 times cheaper – WITH 4 hours battery storage.

As for the raw LCOE? Did you even try the wiki?

Under “Global Studies” it measures the cost in various ways. Cost per installed capacity, cost per MWh. Lazard here says PV is $40 /mwh, and nuclear is $164. Interestingly next to that has the NEA (Nuclear Energy Agency) claiming nuclear is only $69 – but what were you saying about trusting the glossy brochure of the boosters of their own product? 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

The bottom line? YOUR OWN SOURCE shows solar to be 2.4 TIMES cheaper WITH 4 hours storage. We could build twice the grid and a bunch of PHES and STILL be cheaper than nuclear.
Thanks for that source. It almost has me convinced we could to a 200% SOLAR grid with PHES! (But really we’ll do half solar and half wind, because spread out over the continent wind works at night.)

Max, 70 hours doesn't add-up (glossy brochures and all that).

From http://www.energymagazine.com.au/construction-begins-at-wa-pumped-hydro-microgrid/#:~:text=The%201.5MW%20pumped%20hydro,generation%20unit%20to%20produce%20electricity, Walpole’s 1.5-megawatt solar-powered pumped hydro facility will use two farm dams to store 30MWh of energy. Presume a generous 100% conversion to electrical energy.

From http://www.westernpower.com.au/media/6094/wp_walpole_minipumpedhydro_brochure_apr22.pdf , there are 500 Walpole customers. The average Perth home uses ~15kWh per day. Applying this to ~500 Walpole users (homes and businesses combined) yields 7500kWh or 7.5 MWh. 30 MWh storage would last 4 hours.

What did I miss? I'd like to see it all spelled out rather than accept glib claims in motivated glossies.

...and btw, the dam is charged by the largely fossil-fueled grid as well as solar. That's good because the chances of frequent mains outages being managed improves. This is not a template for the national grid, it is not proof of concept. There's plenty wrong with Blakers, but that's for another time.

Gosh Max. Here we are bickering about our back of the envelope calculations of dispatchable renewable energy costs while the renewable energy sector is on the taxpayer funded gravy train, receiving several billion dollars annually. Don't you think they might do the calculations themselves instead of pumping out glossy brochures, telling cock and bull stories about coal subsidies, and relying on dodgy research by the likes of Andy B?

All the BS posted here is worth diddly squat. Nobody who matters cares what any of you think.