‘Captain Sunshine' says Australia is not living up to its solar potential

Australia can be the first 100 per cent renewables-powered continent, but it needs the political will to do so, a global solar expert says.

Australia has the world's highest level of available solar resources.

“Australia is not living up to its potential for power generation. It should be aiming for 100 per cent renewable energy, but Australia is up against the older, entrenched fossil fuel industry,” renewable energy entrepreneur and the chief executive of energy investor Energiya Global Capital, Yosef Abramowitz, said.

Read Cole Latimer’s story from The Age - “‘Captain Sunshine' says Australia is not living up to its solar potential.”

Feldheim shows us how it is done

Germany's Feldheim - energy self-sufficient
 and showing the way ahead.

Australia is the best placed of the world’s developed countries to embrace and adopt renewable energy.

All the components needed for a renewable energy system abound, but the one missing critical ingredient is the political will.

While Australia prevaricates about the idea of becoming energy self-sufficient, others, in this case a German village, are actually doing it.

An ABC story headed: “German village Feldheim the country's first community to become energy self-sufficient” articulates the success of others that shames us.

“The rural village of Feldheim, 80 kilometres south of Berlin, is at the vanguard of Germany's energy revolution, boasting a wind farm, solar plant, biogas and biomass facilities”, the ABC reports.

We need change or we are going to fry

The world is going to fry – unless there is change soon.

That is the view of Will Hutton writing in Britain’s “The Observer” on April 21 in a story headed: “Burnour planet or face financial meltdown. Not much of a choice”.

Will Hutton.

He wrote: “There is weakening political will to make national and international targets for carbon reduction stick, no strong business and financial coalition prepared to lead and a weakening groundswell of public opinion prepared to foot the bill.”

All that, Hutton explains, follows international consensus 25 years ago that the world must act to challenge and resolve climate change.

That resolve, Hutton says is “dissolving”.