KERRY BREWSTER: Joy Baluch's solar vision was not a dying woman's delusion. The solar thermal plant she wanted for her city is a reality in Spain, while Port Augusta's historic coal powerhouses are shutting.

Playford is closed for good. Outside the larger northern plant, a coal train stands empty.

Inside, remnant coal is being washed away, its pipes clean.

Not a single kilowatt is generated here and aside for a short spurt in July, none will be for six months.

For decades this has been the heart of South Australia's power generation, reaping massive and predictable profits for its owners. But coal is no longer king, and in just a few short years, this giant has been brought to its knees.

JEFF DIMERY, CEO, ALINTA ENERGY: Last year we made a substantial loss out of operating the power station, so it's forced a lot of change through our organisation.

KERRY BREWSTER: Alinta's CEO remembers it operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

JEFF DIMERY: Today, unfortunately due to the price of energy that we're receiving in the wholesale market, it's uneconomic to run for the full year.

KERRY BREWSTER: And this is what's knocked off coal: the power of wind, which in South Australia on a really blowy day is capable of generating up to 70 per cent of the state's energy needs.

Amazingly, that's how much was generated over several hours last month.

Even the owner of the state's largest wind farm is surprised how quickly wind has ramped up.

MILES GEORGE, MD, INFIGEN ENERGY: There was a lot of scepticism about whether or not in fact wind farms would be become a serious player. I mean, we were called a cottage industry 10 years ago. Growth has been quite phenomenal, really, much more than we expected, such that we're now at 25 per cent plus of wind energy generation in South Australia, which is pretty amazing, probably close to the highest in the world.

KERRY BREWSTER: Bloomberg New Energy's chief analyst says coal generation is under enormous economic pressure in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

KOBAD BHAVNAGRI, BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE: When the wind blows, coal is no longer needed. So we've had coal-fired power stations getting mothballed and turning off because wind is just pushing them out of merit.

KERRY BREWSTER: Coal also finds itself in a market of unprecedented falling demand.

HUGH SADLER, ENERGY STRATEGIST, PITT AND SHERRY: Well it's sort of like they're being squeezed in a pair of jaws and the demand is coming down and the renewable generation is coming up and the coal-fired generators are ones that are being caught.

KERRY BREWSTER: Look out over Adelaide and see one reason why demand is falling: rooftop solar. More than a million Australian homes - that's one in 10 - now have it. South Australia has double the average - not 10, but 20 per cent of homes - a direct hit to gas and coal generators.

Rooftop solar is literally taking the power out of the market, and at the hottest time of the day, when coal and gas-fired generators have traditionally made their biggest profits.

KOBAD BHAVNAGRI: On sunny days where a lot of people turn on the air-conditioners, solar PV is producing a lot of energy and really shaving the tops of those peaks that would otherwise cause energy prices to really spike in the wholesale market.

KERRY BREWSTER: And there's a lot more to come, according to this installer.

INSTALLER: What we're seeing at the moment is the very beginning of the uptake in the commercial space. This is - you know, this is one of the largest systems in South Australia at the moment. It'll be the first of many. We will reach a point at which solar becomes saturated in the marketplace and becomes the dominant source of energy for South Australia......

donincognito wrote on May 16^th, 2013 at 3:32pm:


And where does the money come from?  Mining and exporting fossil fuels has provided the wealth and the jobs required to raise the taxes.

Killing off these industries because of eco-socialist political agendas is ludicrous.  You are shooting the goose that laid the golden egg.

You foster the industries that make you the money so that you have the resources to put into cleaner methods of exploiting fossil fuels or alternative efficient energy sources.

donincognito wrote on May 16^th, 2013 at 3:32pm:


Human deaths don't 'feature' in my spreadsheet..

The coal and mining subsidies don't even come close to the renewable energy subsidies.

And, no I'm NOT using 'information from years ago'...the sun STILL doesn't shine 24/7 and the wind STILL doesn't blow 24/7. Regardless of any improvements in storage technology, Solar and Wind power are NOT reliable, constant, 24/7 power sources ...

..the cost of the battery packs for solar thermal station is fairly high, plus the 'environmental' cost of the battery packs...despite your 'love' of solar, you STILL need to factor in the environmental and cash cost of the battery packs...the same applies to wind power.

Baronvonrort wrote on May 16^th, 2013 at 6:14pm:


Ok whatever you reckon..

]

Human deaths don't 'feature' in my spreadsheet..

The coal and mining subsidies don't even come close to the renewable energy subsidies.

And, no I'm NOT using 'information from years ago'...the sun STILL doesn't shine 24/7 and the wind STILL doesn't blow 24/7. Regardless of any improvements in storage technology, Solar and Wind power are NOT reliable, constant, 24/7 power sources ...

NO what 'he' reckons isn't 'right'.And no, I don't need to learn anything 'before I post..