The economically and environmentally compelled transition from fossil-fuel generation of electricity to low-carbon sources of power might well have reached a historic turning point in recent days, as Australian policymakers belatedly confront the need to ensure reliable, clean and affordable energy for households and businesses.
It is clear the future of power generation involves the decline and eventual end of coal. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison's recent unparliamentary stunt of brandishing in the lower house a lump of coal and extolling the alleged virtues and indispensability of fossil fuels is looking even more silly in light of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's intervention in what is being widely described as an energy crisis.
Mr Turnbull's announcement of a multibillion-dollar, 50 per cent expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme's capacity comes amid energy security concerns fuelled by South Australia's recent blackouts, the imminent closure of Victoria's Hazelwood coal-fired power station – the 10th such closure in Australia in less than a decade – and a gas price leap primarily associated with Australia's long-standing policy of not restricting gas exports and of having the price set by international markets.
Read the Editorial in today’s Melbourne Age - “Australia’s move to clean energy requires carbon price.”
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