Forget coal, renewable energy is the way to go   
20th Jan 2018
Sunshine Coast Daily

WE HAVE been repeatedly told that we have a moral obligation to sell our coal to India to feed its growing fleet of power stations, in order to lift 300 million Indians out of the dark, pollution and poverty.

If we don't sell them our "clean” coal, they will buy other countries' dirty coal which will somehow pollute the atmosphere more than ours.   

First, coal burns on the basis of its carbon content, producing CO2 which is driving global climate change.

The term "clean” refers to the amount of non-combustible ash present in the coal.

The cleaner the coal, the higher the carbon content.

Would burning clean coal save the Barrier Reef from bleaching?

No!   

Second, since December 2016, the Indian Government has revised its plans.

It has seen the light: solar and wind are cheaper, even than their existing coal-fired generators, can be installed directly into remote villages without having to build thousands of kilometres of high-voltage distribution lines, and are non-polluting.

The Australian Government is yet to acknowledge that, and fights endlessly to delay the inevitable transition to renewable which is sweeping the world, and is threatening to sweep our coal-based mining economy into the dustbin of history.

"Coal will maintain its dominant share of India’s electricity production for decades to come, according to a major report from the government’s planning institute.

The Three Year Action Agenda, released on Thursday by the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayong), laid out a nine-point plan for boosting coal production in India in order to feed increasing demand from India’s coal power sector.

India has 304 million people without access to electricity, the report said, which necessitated growth in all parts of the energy sector."

"The nine-point plan for expanding coal production included:

    Increase of state-monopoly Coal India’s production to 1 billion tonnes per year by 2019-20
    Exploring 25% of the country’s untapped 5,100 sq km coal bearing lands to find new reserves
    ‘Proving’ 25% of the 139.15bn tonnes of coal reserves currently classed as ‘indicated’
    Completion of three railway projects to assist in the transport of coal
    Reduce the prevalence of low quality coal
    Adopt “clean coal technologies”, such as coal gasification"

"The Indian government’s draft National Electricity Plan, which circulated in December, found the country would need no new coal power plants between 2022 and 2027. The Niti Aayong report did not dispute that position."

http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/08/28/coal-power-india-decades-come-says-g...

I think the pathway for more renewable power use is to start on the fringes the way it is being done in Australia.

Renewables are price competitive when you are isolated and too remote from reticulated power.

There is a market for renewables right now,, it just needs that demand to drive innovation and technology to get over the major problem of storage.

Once storage is solved, things will change at breakneck speed.

If I can just draw the comparison again of bows and arrows verses firearms.
The original firearms were no match for the quick fire bow and arrow, the firearms did not disappear tho, technology made them better than bows and arrows.
If anyone wants to debate this, I will see them with their bow and arrow Vs my SLR any time, we start firing at each other at 1500m

Yes BO, I understand that, which is why i pointed out the areas where renewables can work right now.

There are other pathways for renewables to take over from fossil fuels,,, this involves legislation and corrupting the price signals. (carbon taxes)
It would be great if by technology advances renewables did not need any subsidies.

I can see both sides of this debate,

[url]Most [US] States Lost Coal Mining Jobs in 2017, Data Show

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. coal-producing states lost coal mining jobs last year, even as the sector's overall employment grew modestly, preliminary government data shows. Texas lost the most coal mining jobs, and Ohio was a close second.

[/url]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-coal-jobs/exclusive-trumps-coal-job-push-...

King Cnut couldn’t stop the tides, nor will economics be denied,.

I am hoping that renewable energy will become so reliable and cheap
that it will be more economical than stinking coal.

I don't think there's been enough investment in solar thermal power stations
that heat up molten salt so that power can be produced at night.

Bobby. wrote on Jan 21^st, 2018 at 6:33pm:


5kW solar PV install for 4K. It's getting cheaper by the day

BigOl64 wrote on Jan 21^st, 2018 at 6:52pm:


why don't you go and root your boot you alcoholic. Nobody wants to listen to your rightard backward way of thinking. Idiot liberals. All they ever see is some poor excuse for a human being profiting out of other peoples misery.