{"id":324134,"date":"2024-04-27T11:55:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T09:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=324134"},"modified":"2024-04-27T11:55:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T09:55:14","slug":"guardian-politicians-propagated-the-myth-that-renewables-are-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=324134","title":{"rendered":"Guardian: Politicians \u201cPropagated the Myth\u201d that Renewables are Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by Eric Worrall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First published JoNova<\/a>; If you fell for the government propaganda that renewables are the cheapest form of energy, the Guardian will help set you straight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Here\u2019s the truth: energy transition is hard. Not everyone gets a pony<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Lewis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jobs will change, communities will be affected, but we have a shot at rising to the challenge of global heating<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climate crisis has long been defined by its lies: From the original sin of science denial, to Tony Abbott\u2019s confected carbon tax panic, to the latest yellowcake straw man. But the most damaging porky of all might be<\/strong> that the transition to renewable energy<\/strong><\/a> will be easy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government messaging has propagated this myth<\/strong>, vacillating between the torpid technocracy of targets, acronyms and megawatt hours and the sunny spin that promises \u201ca cheaper, cleaner energy future!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both gloss over the hard truth that fundamentally changing the way Australia produces, shares and uses energy is hugely disruptive<\/a>, particularly in the regions where new infrastructure is earmarked for land and sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked to rank energy sources in order of cost, renewables are rated the most expensive<\/a>. Fossil fuels are seen as a cheaper solution, while nuclear is preferred by those who don\u2019t support the transition anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings are hardly surprising, the result of higher electricity bills as global prices for fossil fuels soar. Energy companies, like all big corporations, clip the inflation ticket and roof-top solar incentives are phased out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When US president JFK announced the project to reach the moon within a decade in 1962, he famously proclaimed he was doing things \u201cnot because they are easy, but because they are hard\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/a>Read more: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2024\/apr\/23\/renewable-energy-transition-australia-labor-government-net-zero<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Peter Lewis kind of glosses over the fact The Guardian has been doing its own myth propagation when it comes to the cost of renewables;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The cheapest reliable energy system to meet Australia\u2019s climate targets? Solar and wind, no question<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham Readfearn<\/a>
Fri 1 Sep 2023 11.39 AEST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a lot of commentary about how to measure the cost of renewables \u2013 but much of it misses the point<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been reading or watching any rightwing media of late, you will have heard some extraordinary claims being made about the cost of renewable energy and the transition away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition\u2019s energy spokesperson, Ted O\u2019Brien, suggested the Labor government could be \u201cwilfully lying\u201d about the \u201ctrue cost\u201d of the energy transition, while others have questioned the evidence that solar and wind are the cheapest forms of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Australian, two columns claimed to have uncovered a fatal flaw in how the cost of solar and wind gets compared with coal, gas and the currently-illegal nuclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot to unpick \u2013 but not because any true scandal has been uncovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LCOE metric shows clearly that solar and onshore wind are easily the cheapest forms of electricity right now. But Lehmann, and critics she quotes, say it\u2019s misleading because it does not account for the cost of adding transmission lines and storage to the grid that enable those renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/commentisfree\/2023\/sep\/01\/the-cheapest-reliable-energy-system-to-meet-australias-climate-targets-solar-and-wind-no-question<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A little humility, a mea culpa, I mean I would have accepted an apology from The Guardian for sometimes unintentionally misleading readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I doubt we\u2019ll get any of that from The Guardian. They seem to be set on sailing straight from singing the praises of \u201cthe cheapest reliable energy system\u201d, to blaming misconceptions about the cost of renewables on lying politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that talk of moonshots \u2013 that certainly doesn\u2019t sound like the cheapest option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wonder how green politicians feel about being thrown under a bus by journalists?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re never going to find out, because at the rate this political transformation is going, pretty soon it\u2019s going to be difficult to find any politician who admits they supported renewable energy. Renewables will turn out to be a ghastly mistake, which nobody was responsible for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you fell for the government propaganda that renewables are the cheapest form of energy, the Guardian will help set you straight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":324136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819743,691818618,691818130,691818262],"class_list":{"0":"post-324134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-propaganda","9":"tag-energy-transition","10":"tag-renewables","11":"tag-the-guardian","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/OIG-81.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1mjY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":278249,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=278249","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":0},"title":"Guardian: Offshore Wind Fail \u2013 The UK Government Must Make Cheap Renewables More Affordable","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Biggest clean energy disaster in years\u2019: UK auction secures no offshore windfarms","rel":"","context":"In \"British renewable investment\"","block_context":{"text":"British renewable investment","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=british-renewable-investment"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0Offshore_Wind_Power_shutterstock_486643192.jpg?fit=1200%2C560&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0Offshore_Wind_Power_shutterstock_486643192.jpg?fit=1200%2C560&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0Offshore_Wind_Power_shutterstock_486643192.jpg?fit=1200%2C560&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0Offshore_Wind_Power_shutterstock_486643192.jpg?fit=1200%2C560&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0Offshore_Wind_Power_shutterstock_486643192.jpg?fit=1200%2C560&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":251845,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=251845","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":1},"title":"Guardian: Gas is Dragging Up the Cost of Renewables","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"To accept Christopher Hayes argument, you have to believe that private companies are refusing to invest in enough renewables to bring down the price of energy, because they don\u2019t want to make a profit, and that public ownership is required to short circuit their reluctance to make money?","rel":"","context":"In \"Electricity cost\"","block_context":{"text":"Electricity cost","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electricity-cost"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/05a25a22f140000b854b6b587.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/05a25a22f140000b854b6b587.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/05a25a22f140000b854b6b587.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/05a25a22f140000b854b6b587.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/05a25a22f140000b854b6b587.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":229321,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=229321","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":2},"title":"Why Renewable Energy Is Hitting the Buffers","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Shock Guardian expos\u00e9 of \u201cgreen\u201d energy\u2019s\u00a0failures","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0pexels-photo-272254.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0pexels-photo-272254.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0pexels-photo-272254.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0pexels-photo-272254.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0pexels-photo-272254.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":216141,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=216141","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":3},"title":"The Guardian Accuses the Woke Aussie Government of \u201cClimate Denial\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the meantime, people need fossil fuel.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0Screenshot-2022-08-29-101902.png?fit=837%2C875&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0Screenshot-2022-08-29-101902.png?fit=837%2C875&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0Screenshot-2022-08-29-101902.png?fit=837%2C875&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0Screenshot-2022-08-29-101902.png?fit=837%2C875&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":422068,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422068","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":4},"title":"\u201cWhat is the \u2026 Plan for Gas?\u201d: Even the Guardian has Slammed Mad Miliband\u2019s Latest Green Energy Brainstorm","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s getting pretty rough when even The Guardian is pointing out the flaws in your ambitious renewable energy plan.","rel":"","context":"In \"clean power by 2030\"","block_context":{"text":"clean power by 2030","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-power-by-2030"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOk3_UEEODnDKNuFlAUAJkaWl9VdV05X5lzVS0Cm7oIb156LLN-fG2n8aZGcE8D-uYCw-JZm-IzkxK-RTvpyZRRMz7GK6Q5moyXxEkJAv7c3V3IxlxaK_gF-jA912n4.jpeg?fit=1200%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOk3_UEEODnDKNuFlAUAJkaWl9VdV05X5lzVS0Cm7oIb156LLN-fG2n8aZGcE8D-uYCw-JZm-IzkxK-RTvpyZRRMz7GK6Q5moyXxEkJAv7c3V3IxlxaK_gF-jA912n4.jpeg?fit=1200%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOk3_UEEODnDKNuFlAUAJkaWl9VdV05X5lzVS0Cm7oIb156LLN-fG2n8aZGcE8D-uYCw-JZm-IzkxK-RTvpyZRRMz7GK6Q5moyXxEkJAv7c3V3IxlxaK_gF-jA912n4.jpeg?fit=1200%2C697&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOk3_UEEODnDKNuFlAUAJkaWl9VdV05X5lzVS0Cm7oIb156LLN-fG2n8aZGcE8D-uYCw-JZm-IzkxK-RTvpyZRRMz7GK6Q5moyXxEkJAv7c3V3IxlxaK_gF-jA912n4.jpeg?fit=1200%2C697&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQOk3_UEEODnDKNuFlAUAJkaWl9VdV05X5lzVS0Cm7oIb156LLN-fG2n8aZGcE8D-uYCw-JZm-IzkxK-RTvpyZRRMz7GK6Q5moyXxEkJAv7c3V3IxlxaK_gF-jA912n4.jpeg?fit=1200%2C697&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":264771,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264771","url_meta":{"origin":324134,"position":5},"title":"China The Renewables Leader? Do Your Homework,\u00a0Guardian","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Guardian don\u2019t mention that China\u2019s target was a very easy one.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0534273-popular-funny-stupid-wallpapers-2000x1500-pc.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0534273-popular-funny-stupid-wallpapers-2000x1500-pc.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0534273-popular-funny-stupid-wallpapers-2000x1500-pc.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0534273-popular-funny-stupid-wallpapers-2000x1500-pc.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0534273-popular-funny-stupid-wallpapers-2000x1500-pc.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=324134"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324137,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324134\/revisions\/324137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/324136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=324134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=324134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=324134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}