In Part 1 the tentacles of influence into the myriad of hidden factors affecting the cost of retail electricity were only partly illuminated. As usual, the Devil is in the detail and our modern lives, in these manufactured social jungles, permits only the few who have the time, the inclination or even the cognition to study such atrocities.
Not everyone has eyes to see and connecting the dots and writing such a tedious document is beyond the scope of those socially identified as a normal man or woman.
I am careful not to use the term person, perchance it be used, as intended, in a legal fashion.
In Australia’s near future, someone’s estimate of any political statistic being out by one poofteenth of an inch, ie; an error of measurement acceptable by even the most fastidious carpenter, could face huge financial disincentives or even jail time, whilst error to tilt the table to assist the “approved narrative”, would go undetected, or, as stated in the proposed Misinformation/Disinformation bill, approved MSM (Main Stream Media) organisations will be exempt from prosecution. But my kitchen calendar says 2023, so it’s not 1984 until that bill is passed and the Ministry of Truth is no longer a fictional portfolio.
Whilst the sun shines, between the spraying of Barium and Aluminium particles into the atmosphere, let us shine the light elsewhere, specifically on a metaphorical “cockroach”, a cockroach so big it will thrill even those who “care not” what the price of energy is.
A cockroach that doesn’t belong in this house even if it were permitted in others.
A cockroach with an exclusive appetite for what most households believe to have the greatest value.
A cockroach so focused on what it is to devour, does not hesitate to destroy that which has the most value, so as to gain free and unrestrained access to that which it desires.
Are we talking about why the cost of retail electricity has risen in leaps and bounds for the last decade and is predicted by the Australian Government to continue to do so into the future? Ref: “Energy prices—the story behind rising costs”
https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/pubs/briefingbook44p/energyprices , …. Yep … one and the same.
This story is in allegory, of biblical proportion no less, eg, Galatians 4:24, but let’s personify the characters “per se” and give the cockroach a phylum.
For mere discussion, let’s call this insatiable cockroach “Wind Turbine” and note that his metaphorical parents, Mr and Mrs Turbine and siblings, because there is never just one, inhabit other houses in the surrounding streets and he, and others have discovered a home with less-than-ideal sanitary standards, metaphorically speaking, and have opportunistically relocated to take advantage of the administrative environment.
Who knows, perhaps the occupants of the home identify benefits of having specific vermin in the house.
Perhaps the house is rented, so those temporary inhabitants do not have any long-term interest in the state of the dwelling.
The following is, as advised, allegory but is peppered with real world data and literary psilocybin but with deep footings as with any reliable fairy tale.
A time long, long, time ago, in a country now completely unrecognisable since the overriding of the 1901 Constitution in 1973 by the Whitlam Government, a Qld Premier (Peter Beattie) declared, regarding the cost of electrical energy after the proposed “deregulation” of the electrical energy industry, that “no one will pay any more”, than they do now. Ref Part 1.
Some allegories have humour, … even dark humour.
But apparently, “It is not deregulation that is driving electricity prices”, explained the next Premier, Anna Bligh who advised anyone who wanted to know, that, “Electricity prices are going up because of massive investments in our network and improvements in electricity supply and security”. These and other quotes are referenced in our last exciting episode, (Part 1)
What massive investments in the electricity network do we have now that we didn’t have then that are responsible for the never-ending cost increases?
Well, we have wind turbines, and yes, they are quite massive, and a typical wind-turbine being 2-3 MW in power, costs between $2 million and $4 million dollars. That’s United States dollars. So, until the BRICS gold backed currency collapses the petrodollar, add about another 30%+ to translate the cost into Aussie shekels.
That is a lot of shekels, but according to the scientists at Australia’s Climate Council, once built, these massive, wind-turbines last forever. Yes, they last forever. “As long as our energy system continues to rely on fossil fuels that are bought and sold as international commodities, we will remain at risk of sudden and unexpected spikes in power prices. Alternatively, once built, the wind and sun provide energy consistently for free, forever”. They last forever? Read all about it and more here: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/four-reasons-why-your-power-prices-are-sky-high-and-rising/.
Of course, a scientist who doesn’t understand the ramifications of the 2nd law of thermodynamics is as useful as a motor mechanic who doesn’t know what a spark plug does. But our story is allegory and humour; dark, dark humour and increasingly more satire. This is perfect for a James Bond movie but not as useful in this real-world simulacrum. Any scientists who thinks that anything lasts forever, without a direct quantum mechanical reference, may well be at risk of misshaping our future.
And what is our electrical future?
Our electrical future apparently has “Solar panels, on the roof, charging your vehicle for free, overnight”. Yep, that’s the Ren and Stimpy cartoon our leaders will lead us to live in. The quote is from Anthony Albanese, Australia’s current Prime minister and he is as serious as a heart attack. He emphasised about his statement being very clear. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=277676687177920 You can take that to the bank. Boy, I nearly went off on a 7000 word tangent but our focus is why has electricity prices jumped in leaps and bounds like an Australian marsupial.
So, what has warranted a recent rise of up to 30% in some Australian locations?
The cost of electricity should NOT have risen, because according to the climate council, “When the International Energy Agency analysed power prices during 2022 following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, it found: “higher shares of renewables were correlated with lower electricity prices”.
Check out the link, … you will believe a man can fly.
Re. “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine”, who would need to pass what legislation to make any invasion, here in after referred to as a war, legal? But I digress.
The Climate Council scientists inserted Russia’s involvement with the Ukraine as the reason for the Australian electricity cost increase.
Is that the same as “massive investments in our network and improvements in electricity supply and security”? I couldn’t make the connection either.
There is no time to discuss NATO’s gain of function labs in the Ukraine but google can find 36 600 000 results as to why that’s “fake news” in 0.65 seconds.
Anyway, Zelensky is a professional.
A professional actor and comedian who had had previous experience pretending to be a Prime Minister before he was given the gig.
Zelensky is not as funny as our PM who thinks solar panels can charge your car at night, but it is becoming more obvious that our PM is more correct about these magic solar panels than he is about the objective of “The Voice”.
Further, solar power is not collected for free.
Isn’t it common knowledge that MPPT’s (Maximum Power Point Trackers) and inverters grow on trees and then magically install themselves, and, according to Australian scientists, they last forever? … … Nope.
Let’s get back to the metaphorical cockroach with an insatiable appetite for what people value most. And what do REAL people value most? … Money.
These metaphorical cockroaches want money. Money, Money, Money.
This part is not metaphorical. They want real money and plenty of it.
The story so far, … metaphorical cockroaches, called wind turbines, are consuming real money which is pushing up the cost of electricity.
Even though we now have several million family homes exporting unwanted and consequently problematic electrical energy to the grid during daylight hours, the federal and state governments continue to ramp up financial “incentives” for even more families to produce more untimely exported, surplus-to-requirements, energy.
I told you it was a comedy.
What the system requires is an on peak electricity supply not produced at off peak times. Well ….derrrrr.
Those Photovoltaics that our Prime Minister was talking about is what should be fitted on all the new homes starting yesterday.
We don’t need any more of the ones that need sunlight to work.
We have an oversupply of those.
Returning to the cockroach/wind turbine story, we have to ask why would anyone pay $3 million to $6 million dollars for a wind turbine that can only generate when the wind blows sufficiently and even at times, when the sun is shining, only adding further to an existing oversupply?
First of all, wind turbines do not last forever. See pic 1.
Google will tell that “A good quality, modern wind turbine will generally last for 20 years, although this can be extended to 25 years or longer depending on environmental factors and the correct maintenance procedures being followed”. You will also find that “The turbine has to spin continually for 7 years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture”. Which means that the remaining 13 years is the wind turbine’s productive years.
But, “A typical wind farm would generate electricity about 30 percent of the time, and not necessarily at times when electricity is needed”. Ref: https://www.ans.org/news/article-638/the-economics-of-wind-power/ .
How could anyone have known that would be the case?
If a typical windfarm only generates electricity about 30% of the time, then those 7 years, with the turbine not spinning continually, but only 30% of the time, would increase the energy payback time to over 20 years, which is the life expectancy of the gearbox on the turbine being the commercially viable productive life of the unit.
But many online sites, more than 55 million of them all found in 0.5 of a second, disagree and tell a very different story. Of course, we are all a wake up to that now that many of the same google pages are repeated and even more are not even relevant to the subject. On page five of my google search at this site https://www.acciona.com/renewable-energy/wind-energy/?_adin=02021864894 I found this quote, “Wind power is the most efficient technology to produce energy in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner: it is zero emissions, local, inexhaustible, competitive and it creates wealth and jobs”.
You can read all about them here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acciona
I already had read the article and of course THEY would say THEY make the best hamburgers in town, metaphorically speaking.
THEY are in business, with 30 000 “professional” employees in 30 countries.
But these opposing views can’t both be correct, can they?
If the wind turbines cost as much as $6 million Australian dollars and were worn out before they completed paying back their energy construction outlay, surely, they would not exist as they would not be financially viable.
With the addition to the energy costs, add construction, labour, transport, erecting and the ongoing maintenance and the initial land clearing expenses and the whole wind turbine energy worth-the-effort concept is only going to be viable in a communist or fascist cartoon environment.
How do these do these wind turbines pay for themselves?
Ref: https://weatherguardwind.com/how-much-does-wind-turbine-cost-worth-it/ “Operation and maintenance costs can be significant, but all of these machines are long-term investments continue to (hopefully) pay for themselves over time”.
Keep your fingers crossed folks. (hopefully) … … really?
Does that sound like a sound investment?
Things are always worthwhile and cheaper if some else pays for them so let’s see where this rabbit hole goes.
Perhaps there is a trail of golden bricks marking the road to enlightenment and maybe then we see who is behind the curtain.
“Weather Guard Wind” online site, supplied the quote above but it is an American site.
Windfarms in the US under Joe Biden, who is easily as cognitively sharp as our Albanese, “you know the thing”, aides and abets wind turbine businesses with lucrative government subsidies, that are more difficult to pin down than the wind that drives them. You can read more detail here, https://weatherguardwind.com/wind-turbine-cost-and-roi-considerations-in-2023/, but according to the site’s printed analysis, “One megawatt = 1,000,000 watts of power. One megawatt can power about 1000 homes for a month but in reality, wind turbines don’t come close to producing their rated capacity because of changing wind speeds”. The article further advises, “At full wind speed, a turbine can produce at its full capacity. If a turbine is rated for 2.5 MW, then at peak wind speed it will crank out 2.5 MW of power. Yet, we all know that wind is never constant. Because the wind dies down, changes direction, etc., overall averages will be much lower, usually in the 30-40% range for onshore wind turbines and up to 65% (occasionally higher in rare circumstances) for offshore turbines”.
In practical terms, because the wind is not constant, 30% efficiency turns the energy payback from 7 years to 21 years, about the lifespan of the turbine, and, if it does last 25 years that would almost cover the $42 thousand USD per year maintenance program if nothing goes wrong.
So how do these wind turbine companies make a living?
As advised here: https://www.advanceaustralia.org.au/why_are_renewables_still_getting_these_free_kicks_at_your_expense
“There’s little wonder why foreign companies keep flooding into Australia to build wind farms. Every wind turbine in Australia receives over $500,000 every year in subsidies derived from Renewable Energy Certificates”.
Let’s not mention the thousands of millions of dollars of transmission lines and other infrastructure required to transmit and process the energy from these intermittent energy supply systems that had to be built because the existing system could not support the unstable supply.
But does “Every wind turbine in Australia receives over $500,000 every year in subsidies derived from Renewable Energy Certificates”. How much over “$500,000 every year”, and why?
“Renewable Energy Certificates” (REC) which have been replaced by (STC) Small Scale Technology Certificates have to be purchased by electricity producers in amounts that match their “fossil fuel” electricity production so they can stay legally green.
In a nut shell, and taken verbatim from this Australian Government website below: “This means liable entities (generally electricity retailers) are required to surrender approximately 28.5 million small-scale technology certificates (STCs) to meet their Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) obligations for 2023” Read all it here:
Taken from the same site
“The 2023 small-scale technology percentage (STP) is 16.29%”.
Do those big dirty coal fired electricity generating facilities have to produce their own “green” energy? …. Nope, … they just have to buy the STC’s showing that a minimum of 16.9% of their wholesale energy was “green” and pass the cost on to the consumer and wind turbines generate lots of STC’s.
Just in passing, it is necessary to know that an STC is generated from bringing into existence a functional, solar, hydro, wind (“renewable energy”) etc system with an anticipated kWh production, whether it produces that amount or not.
Calculations for the generation of STC’s are based many factors including climate zones, etc but because of the instability of sun/wind exposure, and topography, etc, etc, all systems will fall into the “or not” bucket, so most of the possible green electricity will never be generated.
The consumer will have to pay for an anticipated amount of commodity that will never be produced. Money for nothing, … but wait there’s more.
Alex Nicole, a former policy adviser for an Australian Liberal Senator, advises that she had seven years’ experience “looking at the mess” generated by the Renewable Energy Act that the Howard government put in place in 2002 which had created a “subsidy environment” where, companies that build wind turbines in Australia, are paid between $600 thousand dollars and $900 thousand dollars per turbine per year as a subsidy alone”.
That’s consistent information.
$600 thousand dollars to $900 thousand dollars per turbine per year is more than $500 thousand dollars per turbine per year.
WHAT?
Yep, listen to the short interview here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cunc3nYgtW-/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
She advises that wind turbines apparently don’t even produce the amount of energy that was used to build them, and they take $40 Billion dollars out of the Australian economy each year, via offshore companies.
The money is not in the electrical energy that they produce, and they do produce some, but the money is in the subsidies paid year after year for each turbine.
That’s $40 000 000 000 each year from the pockets of the electricity consumer each year.
When they reach their end of “productive life” because seriously, they don’t last forever, the blades and other components are an environmental issue to deal with.
And look how easily the construction materials in the turbines are recycled. The caption, “A wind turbine graveyard has been uncovered in North Queensland, with shocking footage capturing dozens of unrecyclable wind turbines rotting away in the bush”. Radio 2GB Sydney audio and short video here:
https://www.2gb.com/dirty-big-secret-wind-turbine-graveyard-found-in-aussie-forest/
HOW GREEN IS THAT?
(See Pic’ old turbine blades hidden in the Australian bush for the last 8 years)
Getting paid “between $600 thousand dollars and $900 thousand dollars per turbine per year as a subsidy alone” in perpetuity would be a good return on investment.
Not as good as Bill Gates’ 20 to 1 return on his government forced “vaccine” investment, but still, if you could get some that action, ….. …. …. would you?
Wind turbines, not on the nose enough for you yet?, well, … … they pull electrical energy off the grid “because they are turbines not windmills” (quote Alex Nicole ref above) but because the energy production from wind turbines is so intermittent and unreliable, the coal fired power stations have to keep supplying electrical energy to the consumer, because it takes 24 to 48 hours to heat up a coal fired generator.
When wind generated electricity comes online, the coal fire power stations cannot be turned off or even turned down.
The steam heated to turn the turbines is merely vented into the atmosphere.
Wasted.
Put in the proverbial bin.
That coal generated heat is still in production, but it is vented and replaced with wind turbine supplied energy when available so regardless of whether they produce electricity or not, the same amount of coal would still be burned.
That is not the ultimate in green efficiency.
It even more embarrassing than getting caught charging your electric car using a diesel or petrol generator.
The true function of a wind turbine is to take between $600 thousand dollars and $900 thousand dollars per turbine per year out of the energy consumer’s pocket and send the profits overseas after claiming that they contributed a measurable amount of green MWh of energy into the electricity grid.
So why did I allegorically enlist the concept of a cockroach to represent these wind turbines?
How many $600 thousand dollars to $900 thousand dollar subsidies have to be paid to make up $40 thousand million dollars each year?
More than one, and more than one cockroach in any home is an infestation.
According to this site: https://www.energyaustralia.com.au/blog/better-energy/renewables-explained-how-wind-power-works “At the end of 2014, there were a total of 1866 wind turbines operating across 71 wind farms around Australia, producing over 30 per cent of our nation’s clean energy and 4.2 per cent of its total electricity. With several new projects in development, wind-power generation is expected to rise dramatically in the coming years”. That’s an average of 26 wind turbines per farm.
According to the government site below there are now 94 operative wind farms in Australia that have been operating since October 2018. You can read how green and cost effective they are here: https://arena.gov.au/renewable-energy/wind/
At the same ratio of wind turbines per wind farm, Australia would now have 2444 wind turbines producing “cheap” electricity.
“Eight new wind farms were commissioned across Australia in 2022, amounting to 1410 MW of additional capacity, with the largest completed project being Goldwind’s Stockyard Hill Wind Farm in regional Victoria, capable of generating 531 MW of electricity from a total of 149 turbines.
A record 19 onshore wind projects totalling 5.4 GW are currently under construction or financially committed in early 2023, while planned offshore wind projects are set to deliver an additional 50 GW once built, representing a substantial capacity boost.
Both of these ground-breaking developments also signal growing interest and confidence in the capability of Australia’s wind energy resources to meet future demand on the energy system.
“With significant growth in wind power, including the expected first ever offshore feasibility licences later in 2023, wind energy has enormous potential to be the backbone of Australia’s renewable energy transformation,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton”. https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news/global-wind-day-2023-highlights-gale-force-opportunity-for-australias-clean-energy-transformation
Again, from this site: https://arena.gov.au/renewable-energy/wind/
“The cost of utility-scale wind energy in Australia is expected to continue falling, with new wind farms expected to deliver electricity at around $50-65/MWh in 2020 and below $50/MWh in 2030”.
But the cost keeps going up. ??????????
So, once again let’s ask, why did the price of retail electricity go up by nearly 30% on 1 July 2023?
Maybe it hasn’t gone up by much as yet, but when a few more coal fired power stations go to heaven, metaphorically speaking, people will be able to read what the term, reliable base load power, actually means, by candlelight. How romantic.
John Lynn
July 2023