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RET will make electricity more costly, less reliable
letter published in The Australian, 20 August 2009

Paul Kelly is right in identifying the farcical nature of the government's renewable energy policy ("Renewable target is mad, bad tokenism", Opinion 19/8), which is supported in principle by a pathetic opposition. Australia now faces the prospect of adopting the worst possible energy policy and markedly reducing our international competitiveness in three ways.

First, by progressively stopping the use of the most efficent source -coal - based on totally flawed analysis by a select group of scientists unable to prove its claims.

Second, doing this without waiting to see how our competitors will act.  

Third, using renewable energy sources to provide 20 per cent of total demand by 2020 without undertaking any research of consequence into the economics or feasibility of those alternatives.

Private research shows that the next best energy option economically after coal - wind power - would require an unfeasible 10,000 wind towers to be built to achieve the 2020 target.

What more damage can the politicians in Canberra do?

Des Moore
South Yarra Vic

PS "Mad, bad and dangerous to know" was Lady Caroline Lamb's description of Byron.

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