Max,

The 90% efficiency applies to ideal conditions, including large dams with minimal piping losses, with falls of >100m, etc., and are hugely expensive.

This would not apply to the "many" installations you could build around Aus. Other than the snowy projects or Tasmania, most pumped hydro storages around Aus would be with smallish dams with small water drops.

I really don't get why you guys are not excited by the idea of Space Based Solar Power. "PowerSats" could be awesome!

It's the merging of my favourite things - clean energy and space.

IF we got a lunar base big enough to manufacture solar panels on, they could RAILGUN the solar modules into orbit around the earth. (At 1 / 24th the energy cost).

It gives space funding access to some of that $10 TRILLION dollar a year energy business. Imagine self-funded moon colonies?

Also, not all the colonists would have to be human! The moon is close enough that we could have robots up there being teleoperated by techs back here on Earth.

Think about it - nearly baseload solar power - AND a moon base on top of it.

But, sadly, solar is SO cheap right here on earth I'm not sure even moon-manufactured PowerSats would compete.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-12-20/space-based-solar-power-europe-funding-research/101733558

If THESE guys say it's possible - then it's possible!

Isaac Arthur http://youtu.be/eBCbdThIJNE

Just have a think http://youtu.be/Rnzuv90VDqQ

If renewables are so cheap then why the hell are we all paying huge subsidies in our electricity bills?

Solar and wind should not get any subsidy or preferential pricing.

Yeah, but fossil fuels cause climate change, kill Australians and cost us $6 billion in the healthcare sector. Renewables don't!

And what's the fossil fuel subsidy?

"Australian state and federal governments subsidised fossil fuels to the tune of a staggering $11.6 billion in 2021/22. A number that will continue to increase due to inflation and potential fuel price increases."

What could that buy us EVERY YEAR instead?

Free rooftop solar for 1.5 million low-income households

15 Kidston Pumped Hydro projects, which cost $777 million. This would provide 22 gigawatt hours of reliable energy – that’s the equivalent of powering all of South Australia for 8 hours.

The $11.6 billion could fund a whopping 72,500 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for Australians. In Australia, there are 1,653 charging sites.

EV chargers
In comparison, Norway has almost 17,000 chargers that support 480,000 electric vehicles. That’s one charger for every 50 kilometres. Australia would need just over 17,500 to cover its roughly 877,000 kilometres of roads every 50km. But with 72,500 chargers, that would mean one charger for every 12km of road in the country.

For $11.6 billion, we could fully fund around 15,500 buses, which could replace all of the diesel buses in Sydney (around 8000), Melbourne (4000), and Brisbane (1200) with many more to spare.

http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/five-better-bets-what-11-billion-of-australians-money-wasted-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-could-buy-us/

That's $11.6 billion EVERY YEAR = $6 billion health costs EVERY YEAR - NOT to mention the real science and dangers of climate change!

"That's $11.6 billion EVERY YEAR...."

Its a fudged number much loved by the anti-fossil fuel zealots. But there isn't a $11 billion subsidy. The vast majority of that number is tax refunds.

I and Armchair explained it above. Clearly it went over Max's head.

Max,

As Mhaze indicated, the claim for $11.6m subsidies is pretty dodgy. Most of it is the $8bn ascribed to the federal Fuel Tax Credits Scheme which is open to all businesses. As a portion of the fuel tax is set aside for the maintenance of public roads, fuel used on equipment not using public roads can get an exemption for this part of the tax.

This is not a subsidy.

Other dodgy stuff is the $200m to build a gas backup power station that is essential to enable renewables etc.