Hi Fester,

One thing is for certain, Australia and the rest of the world, will need to "transition" from a total reliance on energy production from fossil fuels to an alternative. There is no problem with energy supply, the Sun, the provider of all energy, supplies more than enough to meet our requirements, how we harness that energy, and put it to practical use is the question. At the same time science tells us that the climate is changing, and changing rapidly, there is ample evidence for that fact, its not in dispute. Science also tells us global warming is being caused by excess CO2 in the atmosphere, the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to global warming, we ignore that problem at our peril.

I believe we have limited choice when looking at alternatives to fossil fuels, renewables are the best option for Australia, although coal and gas will still play an important, but a diminishing roll over time in energy production. I also believe technology with the development of wind, solar and hydro will be to our advantage as we transition. As for nuclear, I think if we were going to go down that path, we should have started twenty years ago, its too late now. Dutton did Australia a disservice with his half baked nuclear plan, it will never fly.

ttbn,

Fascinating that you’ve gone from insisting the science is fake… to now claiming the engineers just couldn’t make it cheap enough. Quite the pivot - but hey, I’m not one to mock progress.

Private investment reflects policy certainty - and that’s been sabotaged repeatedly by the kind of ideological attacks you cheer on. It’s not that renewables failed investors. It’s that the political climate can make them nervous.

As for transmission? Yes, it’s costly - so was wiring the country for coal. But you never called that a scam. Funny how “waste” only seems to exist when the infrastructure threatens your worldview.

And now you’re quoting engineers and economists - the same “experts” whose advice you said was all lies. It’s almost like you’ll cite anyone who sounds gloomy, even if they contradict your last position.

This isn’t a failure of science, or democracy, or engineering. It’s a failure of honesty - mostly from those who were never arguing in good faith to begin with.

Indyvidual,

I didn’t make that up.Wind turbine blades are being recycled - right now - and not just in tiny pilot projects.

Cement manufacturers like Geocycle and Holcim are grinding blades down and using the material as a replacement in cement kilns, which actually lowers the CO2; intensity of cement production. That’s already happening in Europe and parts of the US.

In the Netherlands and Ireland, blades are being repurposed into pedestrian bridges, bike shelters, and even playground structures. The materials are strong, durable, and far too useful to waste.

As for the rest of the turbine? It’s mostly steel, copper, and rare earth magnets - all routinely recovered and resold. There’s nothing futuristic or speculative about this. Companies are doing it now, because it makes economic sense.

You may not have seen this on the sites you frequent, but pretending something isn’t real doesn’t make it go away.

Recycling isn’t perfectly clean, but it’s better than letting fossil fuels burn endlessly with zero recovery. The problem isn’t that renewables pollute too much - it’s that they’re held to an impossibly pure standard by people still defending industries that don’t even try.

Bezza,

It’s always revealing when someone cites “a neighbour” as their source - just before announcing why the entire renewable transition is “impossible.”

Let’s unpack it...

Yes, rotating machines like coal and gas turbines provide inertia. No, that doesn’t make renewables unviable. Modern grids use synthetic inertia via grid-forming inverters - already being deployed across Australia.

South Australia, which runs up to 80–90% on wind and solar at times, is managing grid stability just fine, thanks to smart planning, synchronous condensers, batteries, and yes - those dreaded experts you lot like to ignore until they sound pessimistic.

The 2021 blackout you referred to? That was caused by a software error in a backup system and a cascade of failures in conventional infrastructure, not solar panels being “a fraction of a degree out.” That’s not how phase synchronization works - nor would “the great unwashed” appreciate being used as props for an anti-renewables fantasy.

As for Britain “opting out” of Net Zero - they’ve just reaffirmed their 2050 commitment, passed by law. Internal political wrangling does not equal abandonment. Every major economy is working out how to modernise their grid, not how to crawl back to coal.

If there's one thing I've shown in this thread, it's that net zero is here to stay - and for good reason, too. The real reason people say “it won’t work” is often not technical - it’s political and tribal.

That includes internal political wrangling.

John, I made no reference to a 2021 blackout. It was last month.
I know about rotating condensers and why they are given that name.
They are expensive and I imagine quite expensive to run.
The neighbour to whom I referred worked in power stations all his
life and really does know what he is talking about.
It is one thing to do a bit of power factor correction and quite
another to support a whole grid.

Hi Paul,

I look forward to a time with cheap and safer batteries as well as high efficiency solar panels as it might make going off the grid viable. I'm less optimistic about a renewable powered grid because of fundamental issues like oversupply. Look at the Codrington wind farm closure. It's not being upgraded because it is not economically viable to do so. How is it possible that a location that was viable for wind generation 25 years ago is not viable today when wind generation costs have plummeted and power prices have sky rocketed? It only makes sense if existing renewable supply has saturated the market.

My hope is that gas fired backup gets built before the coal fired power stations pack it in, and then the gas generation is in turn replaced be cheap smrs. One thing for sure is that the future will be a surprise to us all.