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Not Enough Renewables: Minister Blames Australian Electricity Shortage on Lack of Green Energy

Not Enough Renewables: Minister Blames Australian Electricity Shortage on Lack of Green Energy

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has blamed Australia’s current electricity shortage on a supposed lack of investment in renewable energy and storage facilities from the previous government.

The Labor minister was responding to questions on whether Australia should simply increase—or repair—coal-fired energy generators that already provide around 64.67 percent of the country’s total electricity, as of December 2021.

“The problem is there hasn’t been enough investment in renewable energy,” Bowen told reporters on June 16. “There hasn’t been enough investment in storage.”

“Yes, you can say the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. Well, the rain doesn’t always fall out there, but we managed to store the water,” he said.

“We can store the renewable energy if we have the investment, and that investment has been lacking for the last decade. That’s the problem.”

Outside of coal, the National Electricity Market is supported (pdf) by wind power (10.45 percent of total generation), hydro (7.21 percent), individual solar systems (7.09 percent), gas (6.57 percent), and grid-scale solar (3.85 percent) among others.

Incidentally, Australia has been one of the fastest nations to adopt rooftop solar technology installing over 380,000 systems in 2021, with the Clean Energy Regulator saying the combined amount of electricity generated was 3,200 megawatts.

Further, experts have noted that simply building more batteries to increase storage capacity was unfeasible. One of the world’s largest battery storage systems is FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center in Florida, which can power approximately 329,000 homes but for only a two hour period.

Another problem with increasing battery production would be an increased reliance on Chinese supply chains, which would be risky considering the willingness of the Chinese Communist Party to leverage trade relationships in geopolitical disputes.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Thousands of Homes in Sydney Plunged Into Darkness As Energy Shortage Plagues Australia

Thousands of Homes in Sydney Plunged Into Darkness As Energy Shortage Plagues Australia

Thousands of homes on Australia’s east coast were plunged into darkness on Monday as electricity suppliers struggled to meet demand as the country teeters on the edge of an energy shortage.

On Monday night, multiple areas in Sydney’s north and along the affluent Northern Beaches were sent into darkness, after the energy market operator warned of power disruption across the states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Affected suburbs include Beacon Hill, Frenchs Forest, Narraweena, Cromer and Dee Why in New South Wales (NSW), according to Ausgrid—Australia’s largest electricity distributor on the east coast. Power was available later in the day.

Households were encouraged to use less power as leading energy provider Powerlink Queensland warned of an “unusual combination” of unexpected generator outages plus cool winter temperatures and high demand for electricity.

“Gas supplies are sufficient however very high gas prices means [the Australian Energy Market Operator] has already triggered its market generation response mechanisms,” Powerlink said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Tuesday confirmed that some energy generators have “revised their market availability” in NSW and Queensland due to a new $300/MWh price cap, a result of increased wholesale electricity prices.

In the gas markets, gas prices remained capped at $40/GJ after reaching cumulative high price thresholds in Victoria and Sydney.

“As a consequence of the administered price cap in Queensland, AEMO has seen generation bids reduce,” AEMO said in a media release on Monday. “The price cap … will only remain in place if the cumulative price threshold is still exceeded.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Why did gas prices go from $10 a gigajoule to $800 a gigajoule? An expert on the energy crisis engulfing Australia

Why did gas prices go from $10 a gigajoule to $800 a gigajoule? An expert on the energy crisis engulfing Australia

Australia’s east coast has been plunged into an energy crisis just as winter takes hold, which will see many people struggle to heat their homes due to soaring gas bills.

Meanwhile, Origin Energy this week confirmed it could not source enough black coal to power Australia’s largest coal plant at full capacity, deepening shocks to the energy market.

The electricity price surge is so dire, small energy retailers such as ReAmped Energy are advising customers to switch energy providers or be hit with much higher bills.

So what on Earth is going on? It has a lot to do with Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has disrupted the global energy market. Sanctions on Russian coal and gas exports mean there’s simply not enough supply to meet demand. As a consequence, the global price of gas and coal has soared.

Why are energy prices are getting so high?

Australia is a net exporter of gas and coal. This means we export most of our fossil fuels overseas. As the global price of coal increases, the cost of generating domestic electricity from coal is increasing.

What’s more, many of Australia’s coal generators are ageing, which means they fail more often. At present, nearly 30% of our coal generation is offline.

The price spike comes as coal plant owners look for the exit. Australia’s largest coal plant, Eraring, has been operating for 35 years. In February, Origin announced it would shut Eraring seven years ahead of schedule in 2025 because renewable energy was impacting profitability.

Origin’s new challenge is securing enough coal to run Eraring at its full 2.8 gigawatt capacity. The problem is set to persist into 2023.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australian fuel import bill going sky-high

Australian fuel import bill going sky-high

In March 2022 Australia’s petroleum product imports have reached almost AU$ 4 bn per month, an increase of 70% compared to December 2019.

Fig 1: Petroleum product imports by volume (black lines) and value (brown line)

Fig 2: Australian dollar to US$ exchange rate

The Australian Dollar was also around 0.7 US$ in December 2019, just like in May 2022 so it was not the exchange rate which drove up the bill in that period. It is the closure of Australian refineries (caused by peak oil of international oil companies), the oil price and the competition for fuels on the Asian market.

The Morrison government’s election-opportunistic cut of fuel excise duty by 50% until Sep 2022 will of course not reduce this import burden on the balance of payments. Fuel imports are now 12% of goods and services imports:

Fig 3: Goods and services debits (imports)
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/international-trade/international-trade-goods-and-services-australia/latest-release#goods-and-services-debits-imports-seasonally-adjusted

Fig 4: Diesel imports by volume and value

Fig 5: Diesel imports by country

Australia’s dependency on China and a brand-new Chinese refinery in Brunei in the last years is clearly visible.

Fig 6: Monthly diesel imports

Imports change from month to month depending on the arrival of tankers. Diesel from China has been replaced by Diesel from India.

Fig 7: Petrol imports by value and volume

Fig 8: Petrol imports by country. Singapore now dominates

Fig 9: Jet fuel imports by value and volume

If jet fuel imports go back to their pre-Covid levels of, say, 600 ML/month the jet fuel import bill will double to A$ 700/month.

Conclusion: Australia must reduce its thirst for transport fuels. No new projects should be started which increase fuel consumption.

Related posts:

Australian Oil Stocks Consumption Cover
22 Mar 2022
https://crudeoilpeak.info/australian-oil-stocks-consumption-cover

9/12/2021
Australia crude oil import vulnerabilities Sep 2021 data
http://crudeoilpeak.info/australia-crude-oil-import-vulnerabilities-sep-2021-data

15/2/2021
Exxon-Mobil’s refinery closure in Australia: peak oil context
https://crudeoilpeak.info/exxon-mobils-refinery-closure-in-australia-peak-oil-context

14/11/2020
Australia’s BP Kwinana refinery closure: peak oil context
https://crudeoilpeak.info/australias-bp-kwinana-refinery-closure-peak-oil-context

Digging In: Why powering a green future means more mines

Digging In: Why powering a green future means more mines

“It’s absolutely ironic. But to save the planet, we are going to need more mines.”  Government geoscientist

Around Australia new mining operations are being established and old sites, shuttered decades ago, are being brought back to life.  These miners aren’t digging for coal or gold, they’re hunting for other lucrative commodities – known as critical minerals.

“Critical minerals (are) everything you use for electric vehicles, for transport, for manufacturing.  We’re really at the start of what could be a new mining boom.”  Minerals lobbyist

If you own a mobile phone, if you power your home with renewable energy or drive an electric vehicle, then these minerals are already playing a key part in your life.

And they will play a vital role in all our futures.

But there is a hidden cost?

“We have to decide as a country. How valuable is a place and is it worth risking for mining?”  Research scientist

On Monday Four Corners investigates the new critical minerals mining boom and finds Australia is in the box seat to exploit a surge in worldwide demand.

“Australia is still the luckiest country. Last century we were the luckiest because we had all the coal and a huge amount of natural gas… what we know the future needs is things that Australia also has in spades.”  US energy policy adviser

From lithium mines in WA and the NT, to cobalt operations in NSW and tin mining in Tasmania, these critical minerals are not just making major profits, they’re playing a part in the super power rivalry between America and China.

“China has always known the value of critical minerals.  We are moving into a period now of geopolitical competition, everybody is looking for leverage. The Chinese are quite explicit about that.”  China analyst

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australia Shocks With Bigger Than Expected Rate Hike, As Lowe Admits Embarrassment At Being So Wrong

Australia Shocks With Bigger Than Expected Rate Hike, As Lowe Admits Embarrassment At Being So Wrong

In our preview of what was expected to be Australia’s first rate hike since 2010, we said that consensus expects a 15bps rate hike to 0.25%, with a handful of bank still expecting a hold (including CBA, Goldman and HSBC) and nobody expected a greater than 15bps rate hike. Well, everyone was wrong, because a few hours ago, Australia’s central bank – one of the developed world’s last remaining doves turned hawkish – and joined the global tightening bandwagon when it increased interest rates by more than any economists anticipated, rocking markets with a bigger-than-expected interest-rate hike in the middle of an election campaign and signaled further hikes to come, sending the currency and bond yields higher, while stocks slumped.

Abandoned his pledge of just two months ago to remain patient, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe topped economists estimates by raising the cash rate 25 basis points to 0.35%, defying expectations for a hike of 15 basis points. It was the first time borrowing costs had been lifted in an election campaign in almost 15 years. That move and suggestions that more hikes will follow sent benchmark three-year bond yields soaring through 3% for the first time in eight years.

“The RBA managed to wrongfoot every forecaster and even the market — no one was braced for 25 basis points,” said Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. Economists’ consensus was for a 15 basis-point hike.

Pouring gasoline on the hawkish case, the RBA forecast for 2022 is that headline inflation will accelerate to about 6% and core inflation will rise to around 4.75%. The RBA targets inflation of 2-3%. In response to a question about why the RBA had previously guided against rate hikes, Lowe said that “Inflation has surprised everyone on the upside.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tens of Thousands of Australians Evacuated, Hundreds Missing as ‘Unprecedented’ Flooding Hits East Coast

Tens of Thousands of Australians Evacuated, Hundreds Missing as ‘Unprecedented’ Flooding Hits East Coast

New South Wales (NSW) residents are bracing for unprecedented floods across the east coast, with thousands of residents under evacuation orders and entire suburbs underwater.

The flood-prone suburb of Lismore in northeastern NSW remains under water as the Wilsons River reached two metres above the record flood level from 1954, peaking at 14.4 metres (47 feet) at 3 p.m. on Monday.

NSW Police confirmed the first flood death in NSW and ninth death overall at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Hundreds are missing and at least more one is feared dead after he was lost in the floodwaters.

State Premier Dominic Perrottet has told residents the worst may be yet to come, with 26 evacuation orders affecting 40,000 people, as well as over 300,000 more people under evacuation warnings are in place.

“If an evacuation warning has been issued, please follow the instructions. If you can leave safely, please do so,” he said. “Please do not wait. Please gather your belongings and please follow the instructions from the SES.”

This comes as the Australian Bureau of Meterology has issued a warning for Australia’s most iconic city, Sydney, to brace for flooding and severe winds with the weather system.

At present Perrotett has said emergency services have made over 1,000 flood rescues and received over 6,000 calls for assistance.

“I want to thank our SES volunteers and personnel, and the 550 working around the clock to get people to safety and importantly provide that care and support as we move through this difficult time,” Perrottet said.

Epoch Times Photo
Flooding occurs in the town of Lismore, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, on Feb. 28, 2022. (AAP Image/Jason O’Brien)

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Post collapse, just what will we eat…..?

Post collapse, just what will we eat…..?

Further to my post where I explained how Australia’s poor soils are largely incapable of growing much more than meat, this article landed in my news feed…

Here’s a list of what Australian farmers produce:

  • Each year, on average each Australian farmer feeds 600 people.
  • Agriculture powers 1.6 million Australian jobs.
  • Australian farmers manage 48 per cent of the nation’s landmass.
  • Cattle, wheat and whole milk are our top three commodities by value.
  • More than 99% of Australia’s agricultural businesses are Australian owned.
  • Out of the $58.1 billion worth of food and fibre Australian farmers produced in 2015-16 77 per cent ($44.8 billion) was exported. 
  • 6.8 million hectares of agricultural land has been set aside by Australian farmers for conservation and protection purposes.
  • Australian farmers are among the most self-sufficient in the world, with government support for Australian farms representing just 1% of farming income. In Norway it is 62%, Korea 49%, China 21%, European Union 19% and United States 9%.

Farm facts by commodity

  • In total, Australian beef cattle farmers produce 2.5 million tonnes of beef and veal each year. Australians eat an average 26kg of beef per person, per year. 
  • Australians consume an average of 45.3kg of chicken meat per person, per year. This not only cements chicken’s position as Australian consumers’ favourite meat, but also makes Australia one of the largest consumers of chicken meat in the world!
  • In a normal year, Australia’s cotton growers produce enough cotton to clothe 500 million people.
  • Australia produces about 3 per cent of the world’s cotton but is the fifth largest exporter, behind the USA, India, Brazil, Uzbekistan.
  • Australian dairy farmers produce 9,539 million litres of whole milk per year with the farmgate value of milk production being $4.3 billion.
  • On average, each Australian eats 3.08kg of dried fruit per year. Total Australian dried fruit exports in 2015–16 totalled 5,000 tonnes and was valued at $19.4 million.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australia’s Government Is From the Dark Ages

On July 27, 1656, senior leaders of the Jewish community in Amsterdam issued a writ of cherem— the Hebrew term for expulsion and excommunication.

Their target was a young, 23-year old Dutch/Portuguese intellectual named Baruch Spinoza, himself a Jew, whose dangerous crime was questioning the unquestionable teachings of the faith.

The Jewish elders proclaimed that “The Lord will rage against this man and… blot out his name from under heaven” and ordered that no Jew should communicate with him, offer him shelter, give him money, or read any of his writings.

A few years later, the Catholic Church followed suit and added all of Spinoza’s works to its Index of Banned Books. This makes Baruch Spinoza one of the few people in history to be banished from both the Jewish and Catholic religions.

His philosophy was widely misunderstood at the time. Everyone accused him of being an atheist, which was one of the worst things you could call someone in the 1600s.

But he wasn’t actually an atheist. Spinoza’s works were an attempt for him to reconcile his faith with certain religious teachings that were illogical, self-contradictory, or refuted by science.

He wrote extensively about his “intellectual love of God”. But simply for expressing intellectual independence, Spinoza was expelled from his own Jewish community.

Now, Novak Djokovic is hardly a Baruch Spinoza. But it is truly bizarre in the year 2022 to see someone be expelled from an advanced western democracy simply for expressing intellectual independence.

Just to catch you up, Novak Djokovic is a professional Tennis player from Serbia who is considered one of the all-time greats in the sport. He’s currently ranked #1 in the world and holds an incredible number of records in professional tennis.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australia Ties Record for Hottest Southern Hemisphere Day

Australia Ties Record for Hottest Southern Hemisphere Day

It topped 123 degrees Fahrenheit in Western Australia, tying the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the southern hemisphere

A map showing the misery index in Australia on Thursday.
Gif: Earth Wind Map

It is really, really, really hot in Australia right now.

On Thursday, Onslow, a coastal town in Western Australia north of Perth, recorded a high temperature of 123.3 degrees Fahrenheit (50.7 degrees Celsius). That sweltering heat ties the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, which was set in 1960 in the South Australia outback.

While Onslow was the hottest spot on the continent on Thursday, it wasn’t alone in suffering through the heat. The nearby towns of Roebourne and Mardie both recorded temperatures of 122.9 degrees Fahrenheit (50.5 degrees Celsius), both of which are records as well. Before this week, Australia has only crossed the 122-degree-Fahrenheit (50-degree-Celsius) mark three times in its history. Now, it’s happened at three locations in one day—and even more intense heat is on the way.

Luke Huntington, a meteorologist at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, told local outlet WA Today that the dry spring the area has had could be contributing to the record-setting temperatures—and that this trend could continue.

“The Pilbara region has had persistent hot temperatures over the last few months. and there has been no rainfall to really take away the hot air that has built up,” he said. “Over the next few months. there is a high chance that temperatures on a day-to-day basis will be above average, at least until the wet season rains hit properly.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Honest Government Ad: We Make Everything Good Sh!t

Honest Government Ad: We Make Everything Good Sh!t

World’s Largest Coal Exporter Warns Of Energy Crunch, Imposes Export Ban 

World’s Largest Coal Exporter Warns Of Energy Crunch, Imposes Export Ban 

Chinese coal futures rose on Tuesday on Indonesia’s export ban over the weekend. Indonesia is the largest exporter of dirty fossil fuel, stoking fears of supply woes as the Northern Hemisphere winter is underway.

Bloomberg Intelligence notes ever since China suspended coal imports from Australia in 2020, Indonesia has become an important source, making up 70% of China’s total thermal coal imports.

Indonesia’s export ban sent the most active coal contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange soaring as much as 6% on Tuesday.

On Monday, Indonesia’s state utility provider warned the country was facing a “critical period” of supply woes. The export ban will enable power plants to restock domestic coal supplies to avoid rolling blackouts.

“The move could potentially have knock-on effects in China and India, which are the usual destinations for Indonesian coal,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING.

China has increased domestic production in recent months ahead of winter. Chinese coal miners should benefit from Indonesia’s disruption as prices and sales increase.

Indonesia’s export ban will only last through January but could slash global seaborne supply by 45%. Indonesia is the largest exporter of coal in the world.

Coal prices in other regions have received a boost. Taking a look at the US, Peabody Energy Corporation, the largest private-sector coal company globally, shares jumped 12% on Monday.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australian fuel import dependencies Sep 2021 Data

Australian fuel import dependencies Sep 2021 Data

Diesel Imports

Fig 15: Diesel imports

Diesel imports increased from China since 2015 and also from a brand new Chinese refinery in Brunei. See Fig 18.

Fig 16: Diesel imports from China have been increasing but were nil in July/Aug 21

Fig 17: Australian diesel imports compared to China’s diesel exports

Fig 18: Diesel imports from Brunei

25/3/2021 Brunei peak oil – golden opportunity for China’s Belt and Road Initiative
https://crudeoilpeak.info/brunei-peak-oil-golden-opportunity-for-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative

Note that diesel imports from Taiwan increased as imports from China dropped in the last 3 months:

Fig 19: Monthly diesel imports in last 13 months

The recent diesel import dependency on North East Asia was 36%.

Petrol Imports

Fig 20: Petrol imports by country

Fig 21: Monthly petrol imports in last 13 months

Petrol imports from Singapore increased while those from South Korea decreased, thereby reducing the dependency on shipping lanes around Taiwan.

Fig 22: Covid impact of petrol consumption by State

Petrol consumption in all States dropped April 2020 but had recovered by November 2020. In the following period, NSW and Victoria were most impacted by consecutive Covid waves and lock-downs while other States closed their borders and carried on.

Fig 23: Petrol consumption in Victoria

Fig 24: NSW petrol consumption

NSW petrol consumption in NSW declined by 7% over the pre-Covid period 2010/11 – 2018/19 (= 0.9 % pa). That may be due to a switch to diesel SUVs and pick-ups.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last five decades

Protesting Permaculture: the last five weeks and the last five decades

On Saturday 13th and 20th November, my partner Su Dennett and I joined others from central Victoria travelling by train to the “Kill the Bill”/anti-lockdown/anti-mandate protests in Melbourne. This essay documents the experience, and reflects on the relationship between permaculture and oppositional activism over more than 40 years.

David with his historic permaculture banner at the November 13 rally in Melbourne. Photo from Reignite Democracy website collection.

I also want to highlight the opportunities for permaculture activism in a time of a pandemic to help those in need who have the capacity and motivation to increase their personal, household and community autonomy, resilience and connection to nature. This should be independent of their beliefs, and certainly without the judgemental othering that has accelerated with Covid. In the process, I believe we will all learn to live more lightly on the earth in consideration of fair share and the future.

I was raised in a family at the front lines of the battle to “Stop the War” (in Vietnam). Consequently, as a primary school kid, I knew what it was like to be ostracised as a “commie traitor”. Later, I found my opinions progressively adopted as a symbol of the “generation gap,” also characterised by sex, drugs and rock and roll. If the war had lasted long enough, I knew I would face the prospect of going underground or burning my draft card and doing time.

David’s first demonstration (in pram) cropped from photo of Fremantle May Day march 1956 from Venie Holmgren’s ASIO file (released to public archives in 2016)

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Australian Army Begins Transferring COVID-Positive Cases, Contacts To Quarantine Camps

Australian Army Begins Transferring COVID-Positive Cases, Contacts To Quarantine Camps

The Australian army has begun forcibly removing residents in the Northern Territories to the Howard Springs quarantine camp located in Darwin, after nine new Covid-19 cases were identified in the community of Binjari. The move comes after hard lockdowns were instituted in the communities of both Binjari and nearby Rockhole on Saturday night.

Howard Springs Quarantine Facility has capacity for 2,000 overseas arrivals and about 1,000 domestic travellers. (AAP: Glenn Campbell)

Residents of Binjari and Rockhole no longer have the five reasons to leave their homes,” said Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, referring to the country’s five allowable reasons to avoid lockdown (buying food and supplies, exercising for up to two hours, care or caregiving, work or education if it can’t be done from home, and to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location).

They can only leave for medical treatment, in an emergency, or as required by law.”

It’s highly likely that more residents will be transferred to Howard Springs today, either as positive cases or close contacts,” he continued, adding “We have already identified 38 close contacts from Binjari but that number will go up. Those 38 are being transferred now.

I contacted the Prime Minister last night. We are grateful for the support of about 20 ADF personnel, as well as army trucks to assist with the transfer of positive cases and close contacts – and to support the communities.

We are doing an assessment today of what extra resources we might need from the Feds, and the Prime Minister is ready to help further – I thank him for that.”

Watch:

“We’re conscious of the fact that this can have some impacts on people’s mental health as well as their general well being,” Police Commissioner Jamie Chalkner told NT News.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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