The astonishing cost of Australia’s renewable energy future

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Australia’s transition to renewable energy will be extremely expensive, raising power bills.

The reasons are simple. Renewable energy sources are weather-dependent, resulting in intermittent power and low capacity factors.

As a result, renewables require backup hydrocarbon generation and lots of expensive storage. They also require far greater network infrastructure to connect the distributed web of generation sources spread far across the countryside.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.