Australia: Wind Power is Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels and Solar is Right Behind

[Deepbluediver]

This is good news, but some of the biggest barriers to wind and solar power have never been production, but storage and transportation. And renewable sources can still rely on fossil-fuel as a backup, for when they are not producing. Having to be responsible for 100% of electrical production is an order of magnitude different.

Luckily enough, Australia doesn't really lack for space. There is plenty of desert in the interior of the country that I'm sure no one will care if we pave it with solar cells. But you still need to get that electricity to the people living elsewhere in the country. Electric lines have a limited distance that they can efficiently transport electricity before the resistance starts to make it very expensive. And, there needs to be some other source or storage method for producing electricity at night.

Wind energy has even more issues with variability, for which the solution is usually "build lots windmills everywhere". In other words, both kinds of power production are going to require extensive capital investment to be viable on a wide scale.


I eagerly await the day that humanity is no longer dependent on non-renewable resources for most of our energy needs. I think it has the possibility of happening within my lifetime. It's not going to happen cheaply, or overnight*.
And I still view fossil-fuels and nuclear power as valuable and effective stepping stones.


*Unless someone develops a cheap, room-temperature superconductor, in which case the Sahara desert will rapidly become the solar-energy capital of the world.

 

[skookerasbil]

This is the most up to date graphic of US electric production I could find. I doubt that there has been any serious change since 2011. Maybe wind went up to 2.91. New power? That is the only way to draw attention to wind generation as it ammounts to just about squat. How many raptors, migratory birds, and bats did that minute spark of energy cost?

Saigon thinks the dark blue is "solar"

You wouldn't think that this graph would be necessary for anyone except the blind or completely ignorant or some shut-in resident of their parent's basement.

Go outside. Drive around.

How many windmills do you see?

How many coal trains do you see?

How many companies provide services to extract fossil fuels do you see?

Bro....all these AGW nuts remind me exactly of this guy from MOnty Pyphon and the Holy Grail........the black knight.........

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4]Monty Python-The Black Knight - YouTube[/ame]



Now if that is not the perfect analogy...........

 

[SSDD]

Do you understand that adding exorbitant taxes to fossil fuels and then using government subsides to get people to by wind and solar power doesn't actually make fossil fuels more expensive than wind power. In fact, in the end, it actually makes everything more expensive.

The add on taxes, penalties, etc., to petro energy in order to make it appear more expensive than wind like all left wing plans, inevetably ends up hurting the people who can least afford it the most. The increase in energy leaves the poor making decisions whether to heat or cool vs eating and clothing their kids. All liberal policy aimed at getting the rich inevetably ends up hurting the poor.