LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
MANY people, particularly at the soon-to-close Hazelwood Power Station, are asking why the Andrews Labor Government in Victoria and the Shorten Labor opposition in Canberra seem to be calmly accepting the closure of this base load power station.
After all, it produces some 22 per cent of our base load power and cannot be replaced by renewable energy for the foreseeable future.
Then we remember that the ALP has a policy that promises that half of our power will come from renewables by 2030, just 13 years away.
Unless some miracle occurs, this target has no hope of being achieved.
So if Hazelwood is closed, perhaps followed by Yallourn or Loy Yang, then it will be so much easier to achieve their stated target.
The Greens will be appeased, Mr Shorten and Mr Andrews will boast that they have achieved their objective.
But for the rest of us, it is possible that frequent blackouts will occur when we least need them.
The washing machine won’t start or the heater or refrigerator won’t come on in peak periods when you flick the switch.
Without sufficient base-load power the system will be unable to cope with the demand.
Thank you Mr Shorten and Mr Andrews.
