A renewable fiction: Myths mainstream media refuses to let go in Australia For reasons that are not entirely clear, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar appear to have gotten the better of mainstream media. For years now, many in mainstream media have been propagating myths about renewable energy in general, and wind and solar in particular. It’s unclear why this is so – whether it is simply about ideology, politics, the protection of vested interests or simply the fear of new technologies and new ideas. Since the big price spike in South Australia and then the blackout, however, the myth making has reached plague proportions and has spread to some surprising corners. The problem we identify in the following examples is that there still seems an inherent bias against wind energy, and it appears to be based either on a lack of understanding of how energy systems work, or how they are changing. They seem convinced that renewables are the primary cause of high electricity prices, that fossil fuel plants don’t need back up, that transmission lines were only built to link remote and unreliable wind farms. They fail to understand – and appear to have no interest in asking – that new technologies can make the grid cheaper and more stable, and that we should be accelerating the transition rather than slowing it down and turning to old and expensive alternatives. Here is just a taster: “Isn’t it an inconvenient truth … that we can get to renewable energy (including the Coaliton’s 23.5 per cent target by 2030) … but it is going to be more expensive?” – ABC political editor Chris Uhlmann in ABC interview with energy minister Josh Frydenberg. Er, no. The Abbott government’s review of the RET, which was looking for a different answer, found that the RET would lower prices. The expert panel into Queensland’s proposed 50% RET suggests it will be cost neutral at worst. That’s because the reduction… http://bit.ly/2dGwESf
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