ENERGY
The only way to lower the cost of electricity bills is to boost the supply of energy. While transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources makes sense, it requires a better approach.
The first requirement is a nationwide gas reservation policy. We should not export gas until we satisfy our own domestic needs. But the absence of a reservation policy means that we pay high domestic gas prices, while gas corporations make enormous profits at the same time. An apparent lust for gas extraction also threatens to permanently damage quality farmland and pristine wilderness in regional areas.
Notwithstanding the move to renewable energy sources from gas and coal, gas will continue playing a key part in energy supply when renewable sources do not function - with no sunshine or wind. Gas also plays an important role in our manufacturing sector. High energy costs are part of why manufacturing in Australia is so expensive, and we need our manufacturing sector to thrive in order to reduce our economy's reliance on just a handful of sectors to be sustainable. While many manufacturing plants and facilities will function well with renewable energy, gas needs to be readily available to keep the sector viable.
This should not be seen, however, as a green light for gas extraction everywhere. We must ensure proper use of existing gas sources before we consider extracting more. And we should not sacrifice our farmland and wilderness in pursuit of gas dollars.
The second energy requirement involves major change relating to solar energy in particular. We know how Australians have come to embrace rooftop solar panels on their homes. Investing much more in batteries and energy storage will complement the growth in rooftop solar, but we should do other things.
For starters, instead of covering farmland with solar panels on an industrial scale, we need smaller "solar gardens" on more farms. Covering only a few hectares in size, solar gardens can be more easily connected to existing powerlines and energy infrastructure. They reduce the need for construction of monstrous pylons and powerlines - which many rural communities see as having been "forced" upon them. It makes more sense to have many farms with small-scale solar gardens plugging into existing energy infrastructure, rather than shoving industrial-scale solar farms onto productive land. For sure, farmers should feel free to cover parts of their land with solar panels, if they wish to do so, but it should not be forced upon them.
[For an example of a solar garden within a scheme from which renters can be benefit, click HERE.]
The other key thing is that we really should be putting solar panels on large urban spaces, such as outdoor parking lots at major shopping centres. Usually covered with concrete or bitumen, these spaces become furnaces on stinking hot days, so the potential exists to put up solar panels and make use of what otherwise is wasted land. Moreover, putting up solar panels on parking lots also provides shelter for cars on hot days, and few would not like that! Additionally, putting solar panels on urban parking lots would generate clean energy in areas with the most demand for electricity - and the loudest screams for climate action!
As for nuclear power and offshore wind farms as options for energy supply, my mind is open to both. I have no firm position on either idea, which should be properly discussed and debated.
I call for a nationwide gas reservation policy, more small-scale solar gardens on more farms, and more solar panels on large urban parking lots as the way to energy sustainability.