Antinuclear

Of course, it has been clear for several years now that this is a mirage. Australia’s conservative politicians – be they at a federal or state level – have long railed against renewable energy, usually along the myth-busted lines that they are too expensive, cannot be relied upon, and do nothing to reduce emissions.

In fact, as practical experience has shown in South Australia, with a near world-record 31 per cent of variable renewables in 2013, wind and solar can do the job, can lower the wholesale and retail price of electricity, and can lower emissions.

Other studies show that, despite the pleadings of the incumbent fossil fuel industry, the current RET of 41,000GWh by 2020 is not expensive. In fact, it is more likely to reduce the cost of electricity to consumers, apart from its happy outcomes of decarbonising the grid and forcing dirty and inefficient coal-fired generation out of the market.

More recently, the rhetoric against wind farms has moved from costs and efficiency to visual amenity, and an insistence that the health impacts are not settled. It seems now that the mere sight of them ruffles the hard right ideologues, and even some deemed more moderate. It is as though they cannot accept the utility of any technology that might form the centrepiece of Green policy making.

So perhaps it is time for the conservatives to admit that bipartisan support for renewable energy is a myth. Here’s a roll call of the leading players to act as a reminder………….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/australias-conservative-politicians-railing-against-renewables-36034