Climate Change Denier » Green Investment

Geothermal energy the renewable that never delivers

admin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:53:27 +0000

The latest carbon ad, paid for again by the Australian taxpayer to further ‘educate’ us about renewable energy.

This advertisement features Geodynamics, a renewable energy company that has spend the last ten years trying to develop geothermal energy production near Innamincka in northern South Australia.

How many Megawatts has Geodynamics produced in electricity?

Zero.

Geodynamics has spent ten years spruiking its grand plans. This Greens/Labor Government ad states that 10 percent of Australia’s power could come from geothermal, yet in ten years with ten of millions of dollars of government subsidy Geodynamics has produced not one watt of power.

Geodynamics got its first $5 million government subsidy in 2005. In April 2007 Geodynamics chief executive Adrian Williams said that by 2010 they would be provide some power into the grid, so far zero. In November 2009 Geodynamics was awarded $150 from the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP), still no power.

In October 2008 Geodynamics announced it would provide a demonstration plant and provide power to the town of Innamincka, population 12, by early 2009. Now this is the company that this Labor Government advertisement is pushing as potentially providing ten percent of Australia’s base-load power. Have they managed to power the 12 people people in Innamincka in the following almost three years?

No.

The new Green Jobs are in China

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:03:10 +0000

The Greens (the party) and other Climate alarmists will tell you that investment in renewables will result in tens of thousands of new “Green Jobs”. What they don’t tell you is that most of these “Green Jobs” are in China.

News of another Solar panel manufacturer moving to China from the USA. Australia has no Solar Panel manufacturers (or wind turbine factories). We have a government subsidised solar panel installation industry, that could not survive with out those government subsidies.

So we make our “old economy” industries uncompetitive by wacking a carbon tax on them, and the “new economy” jobs are in China.

Sounds a great future.

New economy jobs in China

Do not subsidise Alternative Energy Programs

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:10:50 +0000

The Chairman of the Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has warned against subsidising alternative energy sources. He says “most of the programs in question serve more as industry assistance than environmental assistance”.

He says that a carbon tax will have significant implications for productivity.

We are already paying for the subsidies for Solar Panels and Wind Power with higher electricity prices. The poorer people in Australian society are now paying for the trendy subsidised solar panels installations of the wealthy, and the expensive green dreams of inner city Sydney and Melbourne, of wind generators everywhere.

The threatened carbon tax proposed by the Labor/Green alliance will only further increase those electricity costs of Australian consumers. As well they will increase the power costs of Australian industry, that competes against overseas companies with cheaper power costs.

The most expensive form of power generation available

Solar Panel subsidy waste, this is what Australian taxpayers are paying for

admin — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:36:38 +0000

Further to my post on the waste of money spent on solar panel installations, here are some pictures of solar panel installations that are a complete waste of money (mostly taxpayers money in the form of a subsidy). To understand this waste, you need to understand that solar panels are at their most efficient when facing north and angled at the same degree as the number degrees away from the equator. So in Adelaide the panels should be facing north and angled at 35 degrees. These examples don’t even get past the basic facing north requirement;

West facing solar panels in eastwood

Solar panel installation in suburban Adelaide. The panels face west rather than north. The panels are partially shaded by a tree and a chimney

More west facing Solar Panels. They would only provide full power for just a few hours per day

West facing solar panels in Marion, Adelaide

West facing solar panels in Ascot Park

$1.1 Billion Dollars wasted on Solar Power

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:21:22 +0000

Further to my post on the wasted money of Australia Taxpayers, two researchers at ANU (Australian national University) have confirmed my views. ANU researchers Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson from the ANU Centre for Law and Climate Policy found that even though the Australian Government had spent $1.1 billion dollars on taxpayer subsidies on Solar Panels, all these panels were contributing 0.1% of Australian electricity needs. Most of these solar panels had been installed in medium to high social economic areas, so the residents can feel both “green” and trendy with solar panels on their roof.

According to the researchers the installation of these heavily subsidied panels saved 0.015% of Australia’s CO2 output.

So will the Australian Government stop the subsidising of Solar Panels for the trendy rich while the poor have to pay increased electricity bills, and higher taxes?

Not Likely.

But its got solar panels on the roof, so doesn’t that make it green?

admin — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:34:40 +0000

The Adelaide Central Bus Station. Vast areas of glass facing west making sure it gets lots of sun on those hot Adelaide summer days. Lots of air conditioning needed. But its OK, its got a 50kw solar panel installation on the roof – so its a “Green” building!!

Greenwashing at its best

Solar Panel installations cost more than a billion dollars, and we still keep paying

admin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:12:12 +0000

The Australia Government spent up to the end of 2009 more than one billion dollars subsiding the most expensive form of power generation, the installation of solar panels on domestic roof tops. Most of these solar panel installations are not efficient installations optimised to get the most power possible. No they face west, they have trees overhanging them, they are tiny 1kw installations, they are just one of the most inefficient ways to get power.

And for this billion dollars spent by the Australia Government, how much power did we get?

120 megawatts!.

How does this compare with Loy Yang power station in Victoria, that the Greens and the Victorian Government love to hate? Loy Yang produces 2200 megawatts. So if we keep investing at this rate we will have to spend 18 billion dollars on home solar panel installations to replace one power station, and that will only be with power produced during the day in summer. What are we going to use for power on winter nights?

As a comparison we could have built a Solar Thermal plant like the 100 megawatt Andasol solar power station in Andalusia, Spain, at a cost of $500 million dollars. But no, we prefer the feel-good of inefficiently placed solar panel installations on peoples roofs.

However there is more. Afer subsidising all these solar panel installations on peoples homes, we have to keep on subsidising them. With the special feed-in tariffs provided by several state governments we are paying more than 100 times more for power from the home solar panel installations as compared to a coal fired power station. We will be paying millions more for this scheme for many years in the future.

Andadol Solar Thermal Power Station in spain, half the cost of the money wasted in Australia on solar panel subsidies

More money wasted on “Green” subsidies

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:46:37 +0000

So much money is wasted by Australian Governments on so-called “Green” investments.

The latest on the Toyota Camry Hybrid read in The Australian here

A subsidy of $3500 per car provided by Australian and Victorian taxpayers. They will only be purchased by either State and Federal Governments who don’t care how much the cars cost – or by wealthy people who want to show their “enviromental credentials”.

Meanwhile a real Green project – the Mildura Solar Thermal power plant cannot get funding.