At a time when power outages are being forecasted due to insufficient dispatchable power in some states this summer, the NSW Liddell Power Station is set for closure by 2022.

I’m sorry, but renewable energy doesn’t supply our nation with the necessary power requirements and until it does, I’m sticking with coal-fired power stations.

I’ve got nothing against renewables but there is 1600 coal-fired power stations being built across the world. Why can’t we use the coal, that we’re happy to sell overseas, here?

Bill Shorten’s plan to become Prime Minister is to give up to 100,000 people a $2,000 subsidy to put solar batteries on their homes and increase the renewable energy target to 50%.

Fair go Bill, we know the Tesla Powerwall cost around $8000 to $10,000 plus installation.

What about the other 8.9 million private dwellings in the country?

Who came up with this shrewd idea Bill?

It’s very deceitful and will continue to drive up electricity prices for ordinary households, businesses and manufacturing.

ALP’s $2000 handout in home battery plan

From Simon Benson – The Australian

The renewables target will be locked in as the centrepiece of Labor’s energy policy agenda along with a 45 per cent emissions reduction target on 2005 levels.

In a move that will invite ­comparisons with the Rudd government’s disastrous taxpayer-funded insulation program during the global financial crisis, Bill Shorten has promised to make the $2000 payment to every family earning less than $180,000 a year to install a battery in their homes.

The Opposition Leader will claim that a $10 million training fund would be established so only accredited battery installers were able to take part in the scheme.

Launching Labor’s major ­energy policy today, Mr Shorten will also vow to implement the ­Coalition’s abandoned national energy guarantee if it can secure bipartisan support in the next parliament but will not legislate the emissions target, which goes beyond the Paris accord.

The move to increase subsidies to renewable energy projects, following the Coalition’s dumping of the renewable energy target, will include a scheme for renters, including solar gardens on rooftops of buildings, and community wind farms. The total cost of the household renewables program, including the battery installation rebate, will be $215.9m over the four-year forward estimates.

However, Mr Shorten has flagged further heavy-industry subsidies for renewables which he has yet to put a price tag on but are expected to cost several billion dollars over the medium term. In releasing the opposition’s much-anticipated energy policy Mr Shorten has laid down an unambiguous point of difference with the Coalition. Labor’s plan to “underwrite” renewable energy and storage is in contrast to the Coalition plan to underwrite the construction of new “clean-coal” and gas projects.

Mr Shorten will confirm that the 50 per cent renewable energy target and 45 per cent reduction in emissions compared with 2005 levels — both with a 2030 timetable — are now locked in as election commitments.

“A Labor government I lead will be prepared to directly underwrite and invest in cleaner, ­cheaper power for Australia,” Mr Shorten will say. “We will prioritise renewables and support firming technologies like storage and gas. Labor will invest in new generation, in better transmission and distribution — because we ­realise this vital ­nation-building work cannot be left up to the big power companies.”

Mr Shorten will challenge the Morrison government to resurrect the NEG, which was dumped as Coalition policy following a minority revolt within the Coalition partyroom in the week before Malcolm Turnbull was forced to step down as prime minister. “I repeat Labor’s offer of ­bipartisanship, we are prepared to keep the national energy guarantee on the table,” Mr Shorten will say in his keynote Bloomberg address in Sydney.

“The parliament could debate and vote on this before Christmas, if the Liberals were so inclined. And if I am elected as prime minister, I will sit down with the new opposition leader and the crossbench to talk about a way we can move forward with this framework.”

He will say if the NEG can’t be resurrected, Labor will push ahead with a separate plan.

Elements of the energy policy released ahead of today’s speech detailed the battery and community renewable plan that would allow for low-cost loans for households to invest further in battery storage.

Mr Shorten will claim that battery storage will save households who take up the offer almost 60 per cent on their current energy bills.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor dismissed Labor’s policy this morning and said batteries would not have the power to keep businesses like steel mills and abattoirs running.

“The real problem with this is, even if they install those batteries, it doesn’t touch the sides. It’s not even close to enough,” he told 2GB.

“If we want to keep jobs in this country, if we want to keep manufacturing, if we want to be a country that keeps making things, you have to have an electricity system that’s affordable but can provide that reliable power.”

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said Labor’s focus on renewables did not yet answer how they would make up for the power generation lost by the closing of coal-fired power stations.

“The challenge for Labor and others proposing rapid increases in renewable energy is to explain how this will occur in just over a decade while ensuring reliable, low-cost, 24/7 baseload energy supply for Australian homes and businesses,” she said.

“With Liddell power station closing in 2022, MCA has identified four additional power stations which could also close: Yallourn in Victoria, Vales Point in NSW, Gladstone C in Queensland and Torrens B in SA. This will reduce low-cost baseload power generation in NSW (by 25 per cent), Victoria (22 per cent), SA (22 per cent) and Queensland (15 per cent).

“It is crucial that Labor consult widely with Australian industry to ensure the real-world impact of its policy proposals is fully understood.”

Anticipating comparisons with the Rudd government $2.7 billion home insulation scheme, Labor sources said the battery-installation program would be constructed under vastly different structures.

Labor’s 2009 roof insulation scheme was condemned by a royal commission after shoddy installations sparked hundreds of house fires and led to the deaths of four people.

The battery program would require people to buy only battery systems approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and installed only by the highest certified installers. The government would have no role in supply or installation.

The scheme would begin in January 2020, provide for a rebate of $500 per kilowatt hour of battery capacity, and be capped at $2000 for households earning less than $180,000 in gross annual income.

Mr Shorten said this would support up to 100,000 battery installations and triple the number operating in Australia. The policy claims this would benefit all electricity users by cutting peak demand and lowering prices overall.

Low-cost loans through the Clean Energy Finance Council would be available to households wanting to purchase more expensive battery systems. Conditions on the scheme include a requirement that the battery systems be virtual power-plant capable and limited to one per home.

Additional reporting: Richard Ferguson

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