New South Wales govt promotes coal, cuts back on renewables
“The more [greenhouse gases] you emit, the more subsidies you get.”……..
Canary in the NSW coal mine Business Spectator Giles ParkinsonPublished , 2 Nov 2010 Even as the NSW government is cracking down on subsidies for renewable energy generation such as rooftop solar, it is ramping up the level of subsidies provided to its coal-fired power stations by ensuring the cheap supply of coal for the next few decades……
its decision to retain ownership of the Cobbora coal project in order to guarantee long-term fuel supplies at well below market price has sounded alarm bells, and could translate to a subsidy that is worth more than $1 billion a year – or even as much as $3 billion.
Professor Ross Garnaut said in a speech in Canberra last week that the move could undermine the impact of a carbon price.
“Media reports that New South Wales is considering allocation of coal to electricity generators, on the condition that the coal is not sold on the open market, are of note and concern,” Garnaut said.
“The implicit subsidy to coal-based generation within these arrangements could work against a carbon price, and be much larger than the highest carbon price that has been suggested in the Australian policy discussion.”….
The government will not reveal the price it will guarantee to the power stations, but even at $45 a tonne it represents a potential $300 million annual saving for the generators over the price proposed by Whitehaven, and some $1.5 billion a year below export price levels.
These are numbers that dwarf the subsidies offered renewable energy developers. As one CEO lamented this week: “The more you emit, the more subsidies you get.”……..
CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Canary in the NSW coal mine | Giles Parkinson | Commentary | Business Spectator
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1.This month.
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 
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