The awful waste of Morrison’s subsidised gas plant

Comment by Peter Roberts

The federal government has come good on its threats to direct Snowy Hydro power to build a $600 million gas-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley, ignoring science, the market and investment reality.

With the private sector unwilling to invest in what are already stranded assets, Snowy Hydro will build a 660-megawatt gas-peaking plant at a the former Kurri Kurri aluminium plant.

An environmental impact statement said the plant would operate two per cent of the time and create 10 full-time jobs.

What a waste of monery and energy by a government in climate change denial.

It has never been able to accept that ‘those awful greenies’ were actually right and the world is warming.

Now it is revealed as unable to accept the realities of the marketplace – something once held sacred by the Coalition.

The government had previously given up on building a coal station in an Australia where the cost of unsubsidised wind power is $27 per MWh and unsubsidised solar PV at $31, compared to the marginal cost of existing conventional coal generation of $41/MWh, according to Lazard.

But it is now pursuing gas, an energy choice that is more expensive than solar and onshore wind generation according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance?

And why gas when Australia’s existing base load gas generators are only operating at 30 per cent capacity because they are too expensive, according to the ANU.

So we are throwing away $600 million of taxpayers money, this at a time when the government is eyeing the National Disability Insurance Scheme for cuts.

Invest in the uneconomic, punish the most vulnerable in society.

What a waste.

Picture: Regrowth Kurri Kurri

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