Paul Burke, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Frank Jotzo, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University y Rohan Best, Macquarie University
We have quantified the effects of twelve power station closures in five states. Local unemployment shoots up and comes down only slowly.
Whether your energy comes from coal or renewable sources isn’t likely to make a difference to your risk of a blackout this summer.
yellowbkpk/Flickr
Summer is here and the chance of blackouts is higher than normal. But the cause is unlikely to be the power station. The problem is usually much closer to home – in the local poles and wires.
Renewables can cut prices as well as emissions.
David Chang/EPA
Frank Jotzo, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The Labor Party’s newly announced energy policy could finally set Australia’s electricity sector on the path to a renewables-driven future. But policies are still needed to cut emissions elsewhere.
The government’s stubborn commitment to coal is alienating it from its natural supporters in the business community.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
The federal government’s the stubborn commitment to coal is pulling the government’s economic policy towards the sort of state socialism it is supposed to abhor.
The closure of the Hazelwood mine has lessons for the future of coal in Australia.
Global Warming Images/AAP
Australia needs to accelerate its transition to clean energy, and not prolong the use of high-polluting, coal-fired infrastructure. Otherwise it risks missing out on an economic windfall.
Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a comprehensive energy law in 2016 that authorized the development of new offshore wind and hydroelectric projects.
Massachusetts governor’s office
Several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have developed ambitious renewable energy targets that hinge in large part on getting their power from turbines stationed in the water.
The new policy could end up feeding demand for coal.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
By rebranding coal as ‘dispatchable’, the government’s National Energy Guarantee looks set to preserve demand for coal-fired power by giving it a new role – one it’s not well equipped to fulfil.
The price of new-build renewable energy is expected to fall significantly relative to new-build coal energy in coming years.
AAP Image/Lucy Hughes Jones
The price of renewable energy will fall significantly relative to new-build coal in coming decades, making an all-renewable electricity system more desirable, both economically and environmentally.
Frank Jotzo, Australian National University y Zeba Anjum, Australian National University
Government payments to keep Australia’s oldest coal plant running amounts to a carbon subsidy. It’s worth looking at the financial – and carbon –
cost.
One big mess: the market has failed to deliver on cheap, reliable energy.
Shutterstock
The energy market operator has released a report on the state of Australia’s electricity system. It couldn’t be blunter if it tried: the market has failed.
Coal-fired power stations, metal smelting and vehicle emissions all pump mercury into the atmosphere.
REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
Australia is the 16th-largest emitter of mercury in the world. A huge amount comes from coal power stations – and a new report argues our pollution guidelines are hopelessly lax.
Yallourn Power Station in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria.
AAP Image/David Crosling
On Q&A, an audience member said renewable energy is ‘now cheaper than coal’. Senator Matt Canavan disagreed, saying renewables are not ‘at the moment, cheaper than coal’. Let’s look at the numbers.
Loy Yang power station in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, is one station doctors think should be a priority for closure.
David Crosling/AAP
The unanticipated public health consequences of unsustainable development reminds the world that the issues are not in the distant future, but instead face us now.