What, Another Energy Cost Increase, ….. Why? Part 4

The dry oil wells continue to refill and as of June 2023 we have not as yet reached “world peak oil”.
I mention this as energy, all energy, is becoming more expensive to purchase, not scarcer, but more expensive.

At the time of writing the cost of a litre of diesel is generally $2.14 in southern Qld Australia, ($2.26.9 on the coast) up from an average “2020-2021 of $1:24”, (google) which is not quite an increase of 100%, but there’s not a war in Israel at the moment, but there is one in the Ukraine, which is the accepted narrative for the increasing cost of oil.
Russia, Russia, Russia.

So, … there is plenty of oil and there’s no risk of us running out of it in the short term.

If we had the time, which we don’t, we could argue the same for coal.

Both commodities have been the backbone for the industrial revolutions providing cheap energy for mankind. The pollution perspective is an issue still to be discussed. I would draw the reader’s attention to the withdrawal of Tetra ethyl lead from super petrol which occurred at the time that the patent ran out.  ….   Coincidence?

Replace Russia, Russia, Russia with Money, money, money.

Getting back to our focus, it is important to note that wind and solar are not alternative energy sources. I will let you do your own etymological studies but suffice to use the example of what mainstream calls “alternative medicines” are in reality, natural and native. It is the allopathic medical industry that uses pharmacology that is not natural and frequently based on petroleum products.
Solar and wind energy are as natural as you can get.

The Australian federal government offered incentives for people to go solar and introduced an enticement subsidy, which culminated in 2001, reducing the cost of putting solar panels on a home’s roof even to the tune in many cases by 50%. That scheme was oversubscribed well before the advised termination date and our application, my family’s application, for a stand-alone system at that time included 1600 watts of panels, 42 kilowatt hours of storage, a regulator, and an inverter, retailing in the vicinity of just under $30,000 at that time, attracted a subsidy, from memory, of $15 400. The subsidy was withdrawn well before the advertised date because it was significantly oversubscribed. Who could have known? Our application was submitted well before the termination date, but we were denied access because of the oversubscription. I analysed the literature and wrote a letter with a focused conclusion that they had in fact failed to meet their published objectives and took the time to go into detail to highlight the shortfalls. Our application was thusly successful, and a standalone system for us, was now affordable and viable.

Things are always cheaper if someone else pays for them.

I was made aware, several months later during a phone conversation to the program’s office, that my letter had allowed another 700 or 800 people to access the scheme. Government agencies have continued to continue to increase incentives for households to join the solar family. The incentive, that we were involved in to have homes and businesses go solar Australia wide culminated in June 2012 whereby our state government in QLD contracted to pay $0.44 for every kWh exported to the grid from an approved photovoltaic system. The amount of FIT, (Feed In Tariff), per kWh of exported energy varied in the other Australia states and territories, but it was enticive, especially when added to the $0.16 that the power companies paid for the “green energy” that they were mandated to supply. And to sweeten the deal, that arrangement was to last until June 2028. Since 2012 governments have continued to be keen to get households on solar and so short term incentives have continued to increase to a point where very little out of pocket outlay is required. We now live in a social environment where the government advertise on commercial TV that they will “pay you to go solar”. Australian homeowners can access solar systems with no financial outlay,       (of course …. conditions apply).

The reduction in the cost of solar components in recent years has increased accessibility due to economies of scale with the added benefit of an increase in efficiency. The mainstream mantra has been that the cost of electricity will continually come down as more people have solar panels on their homes. “Switching to renewable energy will permanently drive down power bills and keep them lower but we don’t have enough of it yet” This quote taken from this site: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/four-reasons-why-your-power-prices-are-sky-high-and-rising/
WHAT?
Has anyone noticed that the opposite has happened?  … “Surprised?”

There is such an oversupply of unreliable electricity during daylight hours wanting to be exported to the grid, that people with solar panels, will, in the very near future, have to pay to dump. https://theconversation.com/now-they-want-to-charge-households-for-exporting-solar-electricity-to-the-grid-itll-send-the-system-backwards-158055

Apart from those who secured a contract with government at $0.44 per kWh back pre-2012, very few people are getting any reasonable return from the electricity they export to the grid. The $0.44 input tariff (FIT) finishes in June 2028 and every effort to get anyone who signed on to that programme, off the programme, has been pursued.

With an oversupply of electricity during daylight hours why would the government continue to increase incentives for new households to become involved in solar energy. Firstly, it was heavily subsidised, then it was free and at the time of writing there are financial incentives to entice those who were a bit slow to move. The next step would be to threaten people and fine them if they don’t have solar.

Would they do that? They are keen to get as many on solar as can be seconded.
But why … … …?