Submission to the Senate Select Committee on EVs - Parliament of Australia

Submission to the Senate Select Committee on EVs
 Decade-long campaign of misinformation on EVs by Australian automobile associations and journals, sets a platform for
 education of the Australian public

 I am a renewable energy analyst and a four-decadal consultant to the international mining industry. I and my company are members
 of the Townsville Chamber of Commerce, the Smart Energy Council, and the North Queensland Conservation Council. I have just
 completed a major Consumer Report “Electric vehicles for Australia: 2018 to 2020”: a comprehensive analysis and interpretation
 of data, with a large suite of implications for electric cars and electric transport in Australia. My ongoing engagement with the
 Australian public and my research demonstrate that most of these - data and implications - remain a mystery to the Australian public.
 This Submission is a subset of my original Submission “Electric vehicles for Australia: 2018 to 2020”. This was withdrawn, and the
 current Submission lodged, in order to document the evidence of this profound ignorance of the nation on EVs, to explain why this
 ignorance exists, and to propose a remedy which will deliver knowledge and understanding of EVs to the Australian public.
 This Submission documents evidence of a nationwide, decade-long campaign of deception of the Australian public, by organisations
 to which that public have mandated (for up to a century), a charter which they have now been failing for the past decade. Half of
 Australia’s automobile associations (AAs) - the national AAA and State AAs RACQ, RAA and RACT - and two leading Australian
 motoring journals Wheels and Motor - have persistently, in their websites and monthly journals, censored and misrepresented the EV
 revolution which has been taking place in the northern hemisphere since 2009. The culpable AAs have ignored each of 20 prime
 elements of the EV revolution, have breached each of their charter elements which relate to EVs, and have breached their global
 charter to advise, educate, and advocate for Australia’s household motoring community. The question to all 8 million members of our
 AAs “In the past decade have you read anything of electric cars, or seen the term electric car, in your monthly journal?” is answered
 in the negative for the four culpable AAs. The AAs encompass almost every Australian driver; 8 million members in a nation of 25
 million, and their monthly journals to all members are a powerful national educational asset. In respect of EVs, this power has proven
 a historic opportunity foregone: the culpable AAs’ legacy of ignorance and misunderstanding has retarded Australia’s industrial and
 social development by a decade. As a scientist I am circumspect in any statement about the strength of my evidence, but in this
 case, the evidence is overwhelming; in its breadth of missing information and its decadal timeframe. The evidence suggests further,
 a covert alliance between the culpable AAs to create systemic misinformation across their publications. The agenda driving this
 campaign is not apparent in the research, which only covers the published domain.
 The Submission recommends that the culpable AAs be held accountable for their actions and inactions, that they apologise to their
 members, and publicly recommit to their charters. Given the magnitude of the breach of their public charter, inflicted on almost 5
 million members - more than half of Australian car owners - a public enquiry may be warranted. Mechanisms, both external oversight
 and internal checks and balances, must be put in place to ensure that the Australian automobile associations are not able in future to
 deviate so dramatically, cynically, persistently, and damagingly, from their charters.
 The AA websites and monthly journals deliver the solution: fill the education gap, immediately, by publishing a plain-Australian
 position paper(s) educating the public on EVs for Australia, written by independent experts. It will reach every Australian car owner.

 Dr Bill Laing
 Laing Exploration Pty Ltd
 Renewable Energy Analyst
 1

Decade-long campaign of misinformation on EVs by
 Australian automobile associations & journals sets a
 platform for education of the Australian public

 Dr Bill Laing

 © Laing Exploration Pty Ltd Report 2018-R05 bill@laingex.com Last update 4 September 2018
Fire Water Air Some statements in this Report are forward-looking, based on the author’s professional knowledge and
 assumptions around the public data being analysed. Any decisions or actions based on the statements may
Solar Hydro Wind involve risks. The author gives no assurance that (a) the public data are complete or accurate, (b) he has
 correctly measured or identified all the factors impacting on any statement, or (c) his analysis is correct.
 2

Decade-long campaign of misinformation on EVs by
 Australian automobile associations & journals sets a
 platform for education of the Australian public

All statements and data in this Submission are researched and referenced. External information is located in:
 Laing, W.P., August 2018. Electric vehicles for Australia: 2018 to 2020. Report 2018-R04, Laing Exploration Pty Ltd.
 Other referenced sources

This Submission is to be cited as:
 Laing, W.P., September 2018. Decade-long campaign of misinformation on EVs by Australian automobile associations &
 journals. sets a platform for education of the Australian public. Report 2018-R05, Laing Exploration Pty Ltd.

All quotations from references are shown inside quotation marks. Comment from the author is not so marked, but is either
bold and/or coloured differently from the referenced quotation.

 Fire Water Air
 Solar Hydro Wind

 3

Index
 Title Pago Content
Subf'nission to the S.nate 5el6Ct COmmittee on e.vs 1
Oeeadal campaign of misinformation on EVs by Australian Ms & journals H\$ a platform for education ol lhe Australian public 2 Text
TI!Se ~th referencing 3 Text
INDEX
Austfalla's EV mlsinformatbn campaign: Terms of Reference
 •5 Tables
 T.,,
Frontispieot: Australia was onoe a fOffl'litt WOtld pioneer in renewables 6 PhOCOS4
Part 1 SUMMARY 7
M&ga-dl'iv«$ in an Australia l)Olarised en renevr.,bles 8 Table
Auslralia's ev misinformation: the culpable groups 9 TOJ

Australia’s EV misinformation campaign: T.O.R.
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES
TERMS OF REFERENCE

Decade-long campaign of misinformation on EVs by Australian automobile associations and journals sets a platform for
education of the Australian public

The Submission addresses each of the terms of reference (italicised below), as in bold text.

a) the potential economic, environmental and social benefits of widespread electric vehicle uptake in Australia;
b) opportunities for electric vehicle manufacturing and electric vehicle supply and value chain services in Australia, and related
economic benefits;
c) measures to support the acceleration of electric vehicle uptake;
d) measures to attract electric vehicle manufacturing and electric vehicle supply and value chain manufacturing to Australia;
e) how federal, state and territory Governments could work together to support electric vehicle uptake and manufacturing, supply,
and value chain activities;
The Submission relates to all the above terms, via a common theme. It documents, and proposes a remedy for, a campaign
of systemic organisation-based deception around Australia’s EV “non-revolution”. This deception has diminished the
nation’s capacity to know, to understand, and to discuss, all elements of the EV revolution which is occurring throughout
most of the developed world. Hence the Submission impacts all the terms of reference:
(a) EV economic, environmental and social benefits
(b) EV opportunities for industry
(c) EV rate of uptake
(d) EV incentivisation
(e) EV whole-of-Government management

f) any other related matters.
The Submission documents the dramatic dichotomy between the EV revolution overseas and the EV “non-revolution” in
Australia, a major reason for this dichotomy, and a strategy to properly inform the Australian public of the pending EV
revolution in Australia.
 5

Australia was once a world pioneer in renewables
Two of the industrialised world’s early home renewable energy inventions have produced icons of the Australian landscape.
These renewable icons are part of our “bush tradition” which is highly valued and lauded by our Automobile Associations.

 Left Bush Australia
 The Southern Cross windmill, delivering underground water to Australian
 farms and stations throughout the continent for more than half our European
 history.
 Energy source: Wind

 Below Urban Australia
 The Hills Hoist, using wind and solar energy to dry our washing for close to
 a century. City, farm and outback.
 Energy source: Wind & Solar

 Fire Water Air
 Solar Hydro Wind

 6

Part 1
SUMMARY

 7

Mega-drivers in an Australia polarised on renewables
 ANTI-RENEWABLES and/or EVs PRO-RENEWABLES and/or EVs

 MURDOCH MEDIA
 Colour density: Dark = strong position (advocating)
 Light = weaker position
 CAR DEALERS

 MOTORING ORGANISATIONS & JOURNALS

 COAL, OIL & GAS PRODUCERS* FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY COMPANIES^ Diversifying

 ICE-ONLY VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS* EV MANUFACTURERS Advancing tech, moving to RHD

 CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL PARTIES GREENS & LABOR PARTY Greens strong, Labor weak +

 AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENTAL LOBBY Strong, positive industry links

 CONSERVATIVE STATE GOVERNMENTS PROGRESSIVE STATE GOVERNMENTS Variable

 BIG BUSINESS Many showing leadership

 * Have a “foot in both camps”:
 SMALL BUSINESS Many pro, some anti, many uncertain
 • many ICE manufacturers (esp in Europe) are also making EVs
 • fossil fuel producers are now investing in renewables UNIVERSITY RESEARCH Variable, some world leaders
 + “Shorten reiterated Labor policy to invest in renewable energy, but he
 would not commit a Labor Government to a coal-free future.” Guardian,
 12 June 2018. The renewable revolution has polarised Australia more
 than other nations. Why? Our coal & oil assets, & the Murdoch media. ^ All have stated coal is dead and all are investing in renewables

 8

Australia’s EV misinformation: the culpable groups
 AUSTRALIA HAS BEEN, AND IS, EXPERIENCING CAMPAIGNS OF MISINFORMATION & CENSORSHIP AROUND
 ELECTRIC TRANSPORT

 The public does not expect that their motoring organisations to agree with, or endorse, a new form of car technology. The public
 does expect that their motoring organisations will give them information on new technologies, and where appropriate a rational
 assessment of its value to us. This is the social licence that we have given them; in some cases a century ago.
 For four of our automobile associations (AAs) this has not happened for a decade now.
 The following pages contain a suite of direct evidence, of systematic campaigns in recent times in Australia, to censor sound
 information, and to propagate incorrect information (eg “range anxiety” remains a much quoted term in H2 2018) on the parallel
 revolutions occurring elsewhere around the world: the renewable revolution generally, and the electric transport revolution in
 particular.
 The major groups running these campaigns of misinformation and censorship, are as follows:
 1 Murdoch press: The Australian (national), Daily Telegraph (NSW), Herald Sun (Victoria), Courier Mail (Qld), Advertiser (SA),
 Mercury (Tasmania)
 2 National and State automobile associations (AAs): AAA, RACQ, RAA, RACT
 3 National motoring journals Wheels and Motor
 4 Australian Government and associated conservative political parties
 5 State Governments (not all)
 6 Capital city Local Governments (not all)
 7 Car dealers
 What might be loosely identified as an ICE lobby (Australian ICE-only car manufacturers Holden and Ford + energy mining
 interests oil + gas ± coal) may well be driving some or most of these campaigns. In my research of public information I have
 seen no evidence of these drivers.

 9

Barriers to EV uptake in an Australia ignorant of EVs
 THREE BARRIERS ARE IDENTIFIED IN VARIOUS SUBMISSIONS AND MEDIA ARTICLES (the list below is not exhaustive)

 BARRIER RELEVANT GROUP OPTIMUM REMEDIATION STRATEGY

 Lack of Government policy

 Lack of Government regulations Paradigm shift required by Federal Goverment;
 GOVERNMENT State & Local Govts are implementing this shift.
 Lack of co-ordination between Governments Federal election may also deliver shift.

 Lack of Government funding

 Lack of co-ordination of EV industry Industry will respond to Govt paradigm shift &
 INDUSTRY resultant supportive regulatory framework.
 Lack of EV dealer leadership Market forces are working & will remain working.

 Endemic public ignorance of renewables

 Endemic public ignorance of EVs THE PUBLIC SEE NEXT PAGE

 Endemic public misconceptions on EVs

 10

The solution to ignorance: the cause is clear & fixable
 OUR IGNORANCE IS NOT AN ACCIDENT, NOR A TIME LAG BETWEEN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AND AUSTRALIA
 A number of Submissions, like those from the Electric Vehicle Council, Hyundai and Tesla, and recent media articles, recognise the
 endemic public ignorance around EVs and the consequent need to raise public awareness. Several Submissions (eg from Hyundai)
 call for “greater Government delivery of targeted education campaigns”. Some Submissions and media, in emphasising the retarded
 state of Australian EV knowledge and uptake, further emphasise the time-critical nature of any solution. These motherhood positions
 are all valid. However I am not aware of Submissions or media which drill down further for specific, high-level, education strategies.
 This Submission addresses the cause of our ignorance, and asks whether that cause(s) can be remedied or reversed to deliver a
 focussed and optimised education campaign. The relevant questions are:
 1. “Why are Australians ignorant, and from the answer, can we expedite and optimise the education process?”
 2. “Is our public ignorance simply due to a natural lag between the northern hemisphere source of the EV revolution and
 Australia downunder, or is it something else, which we can control and remedy?”
 In answering these questions the Submission identifies a major component of cause, which is highly-specific, and is reversible.
 Several AAs and motoring journals have systematically censored and/or misinformed the Australia public on EVs, over a decade.
 These same AAs, and possibly the motoring journals, can immediately educate 8 million Australian car owners on EVs, via the same
 educative asset which has been misused for a decade: their monthly journals and their websites.

 Endemic public ignorance of renewables
 The coal-face media: AAs & motoring journals
 can instantly deliver a “monster” information
 Endemic public ignorance of EVs THE PUBLIC suite to every car owner in Australia: 8 million.
 Murdoch media unlikely to help unless incentivised.
 Endemic public misconceptions on EVs

 11

The solution to ignorance: circulate a flyer to Australia
 THE AAs CAN INSTANTLY DELIVER THE EDUCATION AUSTRALIANS NEED: THEIR MONTHLY JOURNAL = A MEGA-FLYER

 RECOMMENDATION
 The AAs who have been active in the EV space have not necessarily provided the simple practical detail to their members, which
 explains the reality of electric cars for themselves and their family. This Submission provides several tabulations and listings of
 simple facts around EVs, based on the question “Why should I buy an electric car?” As a regional EV educator, advocate and
 media commentator, I see almost daily the misconceptions of Australian car owners, which in turn provide fertile ground for
 misunderstanding, poor consumer choices, and a misinformed personal platform for participating rationally in this key issue of the
 21st century.
 I recommend that an EV Dossier centred on the question “Why should I buy an electric car?”, be published in one or two
 consecutive monthly issues, simultaneously, by all Australian AAs. The EV Dossier would be comprehensive but concise (eg dot
 points), and cover the range of issues relevant to the Australia EV consumer which are addressed by Laing (Report 2018-R04). The
 EV Dossier could be endorsed by the AAs themselves, the Electric Vehicle Council, the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, the
 Australian Automotive Dealer Association, and other entities deemed appropriate.

 Endemic public ignorance of renewables
 The coal-face media: AAs & motoring journals
 can instantly deliver an Information Dossier to
 Endemic public ignorance of EVs THE PUBLIC every car owner in Australia: 8 million.
 Murdoch media unlikely to help unless incentivised.
 Endemic public misconceptions on EVs

 12

Australia’s EV misinformation campaign: summary
 Australia in September 2018 is a nation deeply ignorant, divided, and without guidance, on the issue of electric vehicles (EVs). For the past decade
 Australians have lived on a diet of no information, and misinformation, around renewables generally and EVs specifically. Renewable power has
 been ignored/censored/misrepresented, by our powerful fossil fuel lobby and Federal Government. And the EV revolution sweeping most of the
 advanced world (5 million EVs now in Europe, North America and north Asia, containing one third of the world’s population) has been ignored/
 censored/misrepresented, by the very institutions which the Australia’s car-mad nation founded a century ago to represent, advocate for, and
 educate us. These are our automobile associations (AAs), to whom we have given a social mandate, and our motoring journals represented by
 Wheels and Motor, to whom we have given a commercial licence. These twin campaigns of deception of the public remain extant. They have been,
 and remain, a major cause of Australia’s ill-preparedness for the EV revolution which is emphasised by a number of Submissions.
 Australia’s State AAs represent large memberships: NRMA 2.4m, RACV 2.1m, RACQ 1.7m, RACWA 1.0m, RAA 0.8m, RACT 0.1m. The AA
 membership totals 8.0 million, in a nation of 25.0 million, or 32% of Australia’s population. This 32% occupies the driving-age demographic of +18
 years, which comprises 76% of the population, so 32% normalises into 42% of Australians of driving-age belonging to an AA. Given that most
 families register only one of two family heads as members of their AA, the figure of 42% represents nominally somewhere near 84% of Australia’s
 driving age population, and given further that a proportion of Australians do not own cars, the nominal 84% AA membership represents close to
 maximum possible membership of Australian AAs. This is a striking affirmation of the Australian driving public’s commitment to their AAs. Conversely,
 their membership figures mandate a major obligation on the Australian AAs to fulfil their charters.
 A comprehensive analysis of the AAs (national AAA, and State NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RACWA, RAA, RACT), via their websites and in some cases
 their monthly journals, and leading Australian motoring journals Wheels and Motor, reveals a decade-long history of automobile associations and
 journals ignoring the EV revolution. Most AAs posit a one-line motherhood statement acknowledging climate change and the importance of an
 Australian response, via reduction in our car emissions. The AAA, RACQ, RAA and RACT, the “culpable” AAs since 2010, have then perpetrated a
 consistent strategy: to frame car emissions reduction as achievable only by reduction in emissions from fossil fuels. From there they focus 100% on
 fossil fuels, and ignore the contribution of electric transport to emissions reduction. The two motoring journals have done something similar.
 For the past decade our culpable AAs, and motoring journals, have failed to be proactive; abreast and ahead of the EV revolution, and failed to be
 even reactive, flagging parts of the EV revolution as they happen. Instead, our culpable AAs and motoring journals have been silent. My research
 of their websites and journals revealed the magnitude, and blatancy, of the silence and consequent deception. The culpable AAs have ignored each
 of 20 prime elements of the EV revolution, and have breached each of their charter elements which relate to EVs. Given the national damage this
 deception has caused, over a critical decade of foregone national opportunity in energy and transport, the AAs’ conduct has been egregious.
 The evidence, including detailed similarities of their website entries, further leads to the suggestion that the culpable Australian AAs have formed a
 covert, possibly unstated, alliance, to perpetuate the status quo of ICE vehicles on the Australian people. I have no evidence how or why the alliance
 may have been created. Their self-generated battle has, to date, been won by the AAs and motoring journals, and the Australian nation has lost. The
 Australian motoring public, and voters, need urgent re-education via a muscular information base on EVs.
 The culpable Australian AAs must acknowledge, apologise for, and rectify their deception on the EV revolution; immediately, given the speed and
 success of the transformations taking place overseas. The Senate Select Committee can provide recommendations on reform of AA culture and a
 review of underperforming Boards. Australia’s AAs should publish an Information Dossier centred on the question “Why should I buy an electric
 car?”, in 1-2 consecutive monthly issues, simultaneously across Australia. The Information Dossier would be endorsed by relevant motoring bodies.

 13

The status of EVs for Australia
AUSTRALIA HAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE EV REVOLUTION, AND WE LEAD THE WAY IN SOME AREAS
1 EV chargers: the full range of charger types from standard to super, but lacking ultra-fast chargers (5-15 mins) emerging in Europe
2 EV charging stations: national network exceeds 800, at

The status of EVs for Australia: ignored by AAs
 BLUE = EV-related items appropriate for publication by AAs but not published FAIL 100%
AUSTRALIA HAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE EV REVOLUTION, AND WE LEAD THE WAY IN SOME AREAS
1 EV chargers: the full range of charger types from standard to super, but lacking ultra-fast chargers (5-15 mins) emerging in Europe
2 EV charging stations: national network exceeds 800, at

The charter of AAs eg RACQ
“RACQ is the independent advocate for Queensland motorists
This means we will:
 • Understand our current and future members’ needs and priorities through regular engagement with them
 on motoring issues and through utilisation of the best available research
 • Advocate on behalf of our membership to all levels of government, the suppliers of motoring-related
 products and services, and other organisations with an interest in land transport
 • Communicate our policies and other significant advocacy initiatives to our members & other stakeholders;
 • Educate our members on motoring issues
 • Measure and report on our advocacy activities to our members annually.
Advocacy Priorities
SAFETY
Safer drivers in safer cars on safer roads
We will advocate for:
 • Education and enforcement programs that support safe and responsible road use;
 • Roads that are designed and built to be more forgiving of user error; and
 • Vehicles that provide the best technology to help drivers avoid collisions and protect occupants and other
 road users in the event of a crash
AFFORDABILITY
Value for money for motorists
We will advocate for:
 • Fair and justifiable motoring costs, whether imposed by industry or government
 • Informed choices by motorists as consumers
 • Adequate funding to build and maintain an efficient road and public transport network
SUSTAINABILITY
Mobility now and for the future
We will advocate for:
 • Minimal negative impacts of motoring on the natural and built environments
 • Economically efficient and equitable ways of reducing traffic congestion in our cities;
 • Integration of land use and transport planning; and
 • Further research and support for alternative fuels and automotive technologies that reduce dependence
 on fossil fuels and enhance Australia’s energy security”

https://www.racq.com.au/-/media/pdf/racq.../0814_advocacy_charter.pdf?la...Cached

 16

The charter of AAs eg RACQ: have they complied?
 BLUE= clauses of RACQ Charter relevant to electric transport
“RACQ is the independent advocate for Queensland motorists FAIL - 100%
This means we will:
 • Understand our current and future members’ needs and priorities through regular engagement with them
 on motoring issues and through utilisation of the best available research FAIL - HIGH LEVEL
 • Advocate on behalf of our membership to all levels of government, the suppliers of motoring-related
 products and services, and other organisations with an interest in land transport FAIL - HIGH LEVEL
 • Communicate our policies and other significant advocacy initiatives to our members & other stakeholders;
 • Educate our members on motoring issues FAIL - HIGH LEVEL
 • Measure and report on our advocacy activities to our members annually.
 u?on 
   
  
Advocacy Priorities ts 
   Charte r 
   claus es 
   w hich 
  encompass 
  the 
  EV 
  revol
 bserve 
  all 
  60% 
  of 
   i
SAFETY The 
  RACQ 
  has 
  failed 
  to 
  o
Safer drivers in safer cars on safer roads
We will advocate for:
 • Education and enforcement programs that support safe and responsible road use;
 • Roads that are designed and built to be more forgiving of user error; and
 • Vehicles that provide the best technology to help drivers avoid collisions and protect occupants and other
 road users in the event of a crash FAIL - LOW LEVEL
AFFORDABILITY
Value for money for motorists
We will advocate for:
 • Fair and justifiable motoring costs, whether imposed by industry or government FAIL - LOW LEVEL
 • Informed choices by motorists as consumers FAIL - HIGH LEVEL
 • Adequate funding to build and maintain an efficient road and public transport network FAIL - LOW LEVEL
SUSTAINABILITY
Mobility now and for the future
We will advocate for:
 • Minimal negative impacts of motoring on the natural and built environments FAIL - HIGH LEVEL
 • Economically efficient and equitable ways of reducing traffic congestion in our cities;
 • Integration of land use and transport planning; and
 • Further research and support for alternative fuels and automotive technologies that reduce dependence
 on fossil fuels and enhance Australia’s energy security” FAIL - HIGH LEVEL

https://www.racq.com.au/-/media/pdf/racq.../0814_advocacy_charter.pdf?la...Cached

 17

Australia’s EV deception: ranking of our AAs
3 Australian State AAs have positions and policies which ignore renewable transport.
4 acknowledge renewable transport and are building infrastructure (charging stations).
3 of these actively advocate renewable transport.
All are ranked below, in a score out of 10, on their culture of acknowledgement of, and information on, renewable transport.
The evidence for the score is contained in the following pages.

 
   
  8 
   
   NRMA New South Wales Advocate renewables, building infrastructure, fleet renewability

 
   
  8 
   
   RACV Victoria Advocate renewables, building infrastructure, fleet renewability

 
   
  7 
   RACWA Western Australia Advocate renewables, building infrastructure
 
   
  5 
   
   RACT Tasmania Starting infrastructure

 
   
  2 
   
   RACQ Queensland Acknowledge fossil emissions, ignore renewable transport

 
   
  2 
   
   RAA South Australia Acknowledge fossil emissions, ignore renewable transport

 
   
  2 
   
   AAA Australia Acknowledge fossil emissions, ignore renewable transport

 18

Part 2
HOW MISINFORMED IS AUSTRALIA?

 19

Q: HOW MANY RENEWABLE
How misinformed are we? Straw poll: POWER STATIONS ARE
 (BEING) BUILT AROUND
How many renewable power stations? TOWNSVILLE?

 Straw poll of 20 Townsville residents

 Townsville

 400 km radius
 20

Q: HOW MANY RENEWABLE
 POWER STATIONS ARE
 (BEING) BUILT AROUND
 TOWNSVILLE?

 Straw poll of 20 Townsville residents:
 Most said “None”
 4 said 1-2
 1 said 5
 1 said 7 (an Ergon officer)
 All gasped when told “27”
 Townsville
 Solar
 Wind

 Biomass Total 27
 Hydro

 Pumped hydro (world first)

400 km radius
 21

How misinformed are we? Laing media experience
The writer has been a regular correspondent to ABC North Queensland, delivering a series of extended interviews to ABC Radio
presenter Michael Clarke on ABC Radio station 630 4QN since August 2017. The series is entitled “Update on renewables” and is
broadcast on prime time around 9 am during the business week. Three of the interviews have specifically focussed on electric
vehicles for Australia and North Queensland.
The writer is well-known in Townsville, and receives regular feedback from the extensive ABC North Queensland listening audience.
This feedback evinces a level of ignorance, on the part of intelligent community members many of them active in public life, which
can only be described as so poor as to be dysfunctional.
The Australian community is dangerously unprepared for the EV revolution which has swept three continents (Europe, North
America, north Asia) and 2.5 billion people - one third of the earth’s population.
The Australian people do not possess the information to make rational personal, family and business decisions on
renewable energy and electric cars.
The Australian people do not possess the information to vote rationally in Government elections, on candidate or party
policies involving renewable energy and electric transport.
The Australian community is not equipped to provide candidates for Government who will make sound policy on renewable
energy and electric transport, for our nation’s future.
The Australian community is squandering an opportunity, lost for a decade and still unrealised, to build a better community
on the basis of earth-sustaining and commercially superior renewable technologies which include electric vehicles.
The Australian nation is failing its commitment to the Paris Accord, in its persistent ignoring of transport emissions - the
largest and most intransigent emitting sector of the advanced world - and its mitigation via the EV revolution.

Interview: Dr Bill Laing, renewable energy analyst, with Michael Clarke of ABC Radio station 630 4QN, 16 March 2018:

The writer has been an avid motorist for 5 decades. He has been a successful motorsport
participant (rally driver champion) in two states. He continues to enjoy driving, now in a
hybrid electric car, which he plans to trade for an all-electric car when the right model
comes to Australia. He has spent a lifetime monitoring Aussie cars and Aussie driving
culture, and as a geologist driving around the vast road network of our Australian continent.

 22

Part 3
CAMPAIGNS OF MISINFORMATION ON EVs:
 BY VARIOUS GROUPS

 23

Australia’s EV misinformation: the ICE lobby
 ICE LOBBY STRIKES OUT AGAINST CAR EMISSION STANDARDS [RenewEconomy, 31 May 2018]

 “Australia’s car industry lobby has launched a major new kick-back against car emissions standards being proposed for light
 vehicles in Australia, underscoring the uphill battle the nation faces in the shift to electric vehicles.
 The introduction of a CO2 light vehicle emissions standard of 105 g/km to apply to all new vehicles sold in 2025 was first aired by
 Government in July 2017. Currently Australia has no standard for light vehicle emissions, and no other incentives to
 encourage consumers to buy cleaner cars. It stands unique in the western world for its lack of standards on car
 emissions, or most other emissions for that matter.
 An issues paper supported the proposed new standard, which according to the Government’s own modelling could
 save consumers $519 per year in fuel costs. Still, the Turnbull Government was immediately forced to mollify a rabid car lobby
 and some of its own more conservative Coalition party members, after the proposed emissions standard was labeled a “carbon
 tax on cars.
 The issues paper, and the emissions standard, remain unadopted.”

 https://reneweconomy.com.au/ice-lobby-strikes-out-against-car-emissions-standards-78071/?utm_source=RE+Daily
 +Newsletter&utm_campaign=2b5dee2812-
 EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_30_09_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_46a1943223-2b5dee2812-40438741

 24

Australia’s EV misinformation: car dealers
 WHY CAR DEALERS DON’T WANT TO SELL ELECTRIC VEHICLES [RenewEconomy, 22 May 2018]

 The empirical evidence
 “According to a new study published in Nature Journal this week, there’s another “largely unexplored” and significant barrier to EV
 uptake - at the point of sale. A team of researchers from Denmark’s Aarhus University visited 82 car dealerships across Scandinavia
 (5 countries) posing as potential shoppers, and found that sales personnel were dismissive of EVs, misinformed consumers about
 them, and encouraged the purchase of petrol and diesel vehicles instead. In some cases, EVs were omitted from sales pitches
 entirely, despite the fact that the vast majority of all major global auto makers now offer multiple EV options, with some, like Volvo,
 committing to switch their entire fleet to electric or hybrid electric starting next year. The report says “The study provides
 much-needed insight into this area through an extensive mystery shopping exercise that spans 15 cities in 5 Nordic countries. By
 quantifying their experiences as potential customers and recording key quotations from sales personnel …(they) demonstrate that
 sales interactions are unlikely to result in EV purchase because sales personnel are dismissive of EVs, provide incorrect
 information, strongly orient customers to other options, and in some cases omit EVs from the sales pitch entirely.”
 Why? Planned non-obsolescence
 The team also interviewed 30 industry experts, who corroborated their findings, describing EVs as both harder to sell and less
 incentivised, in that they were expected to produce lower profits for the dealerships. That’s because EVs - with significantly
 fewer moving parts - require far less servicing than fossil fuelled ICE cars. “While an added benefit of EV technology for the
 user is a substantial reduction in routine maintenance and repairs, this also represents a further disincentive for the dealer to promote
 EV technology, because they rely heavily on income from repairs and maintenance as part of their revenue model,” the report says.
 Why? Poor salespeople training
 “On top of this, sales personnel do not receive adequate training on electric vehicles that would support effective sales strategies.”
 This means that consumers who are not already well informed about or interested in electric vehicles, and who might see
 one for the first time at a car dealership, are unlikely to have experiences that encourage them to purchase one.
 Why? Car dealers’ business case is aligned with the global oil industry and established car manufacturers
 Perhaps the clearest message from the Danish study’s findings is that it is not just the global oil industry, and established car
 manufacturers, who stand to lose out from the global shift to EVs - and who therefore might be actively resisting it. We can
 now add to that list another major industry group whose business case is being threatened by EVs: car dealers. This
 particular lobby group’s muscle has been most obviously flexed in the US, where EV maker Tesla has been legally prohibited from
 setting up dealerships in a number of States, due to an easily exploited quirk of that country’s franchise laws.”

 25

Australia’s EV misinformation: Federal Government
 AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FIGHTS AGAINST CAR EMISSION STANDARDS [RenewEconomy, 31 May 2018]

 “The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees the number of light EVs (cars) on the road globally reaching 125 million by 2030 on
 business as usual; or 220 million with a bit of added policy ambition - 130 million battery electric and 90 million plug-in hybrids,
 respectively. By comparison, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) latest forecasts see 559 million EVs on the world’s roads by
 2040, by which time they would be making up 55% of all new car sales globally, having become cheaper to make than internal
 combustion engine cars by 2030. But as both the BNEF and IEA reports note, strong policy support will be a major determining
 factor of how quickly - and painlessly - the shift to EVs happens. And strong policy support for EVs requires Governments with
 strong backbones, able to withstand the lobbying of powerful vested interest groups that extend from the factory, to the
 salesroom floor, to the petrol pump, and beyond.
 And right now in Australia, the Federal Turnbull Government is being put to the test. “The Government keeps pushing out
 the deadline for action on emissions standards, begging the question of who is actually writing their policy,” said Senator Janet
 Rice, Australian Greens transport spokesperson. “80% of the world car market already has light vehicle emissions standards.
 Any weakening of the 105g/km target or delay to the 2025 implementation date as recommended by the Government’s own
 Ministerial Forum will show that the Turnbull Government is completely in the pockets of big business when it comes to
 energy and transport policy. If Ministers Fletcher and Frydenberg cave in to the car manufacturers’ scare campaign, motorists
 won’t see the $500+ per year in average fuel savings - we’ll see millions of tons of extra pollution pumped into the atmosphere and our
 reliance on oil imports from overseas continue to increase. Unless the Turnbull Government acts fast, Australia will continue to be the
 global dumping ground for inefficient polluting gas guzzlers.”
 https://reneweconomy.com.au/ice-lobby-strikes-out-against-car-emissions-standards-78071/?utm_source=RE+Daily
 +Newsletter&utm_campaign=2b5dee2812-
 EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_30_09_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_46a1943223-2b5dee2812-40438741

 [RenewEconomy, 22 May 2018]
 “The Australian Government has zero incentives driving EV uptake and instead relies on the varied efforts of the States and
 territories. Last year we witnessed that even the prospect of introducing nation-wide vehicle emissions standards - basic
 policy practice in most of the rest of the world - had the local conservative media dubbing it as a “carbon tax on cars.” As
 Greens Senator Janet Rice put it earlier this year, “We’ve got a Government that is beholden to vested interests and old technologies;
 people who just want the status quo to continue. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has just recently been talking really big on
 EVs, but his party is saying that they are going to make up 15% of new vehicle sales by 2030, which is just pathetic.” “

 26

Australia’s EV misinformation: Federal Government
 OLD FOSSILS: WHAT’S AT STAKE IF AUSTRALIA IGNORES GLOBAL EV TRANSITION [RenewEconomy, 24 May 2018]

 “Australia is being warned that it is in danger of missing out on enormous economic and social benefits if it continues to dawdle over
 initiatives that could support the rollout of EVs, and the creation of significant manufacturing and technology industries. At the
 Renewable Cities conference leading industrialists, analysts, industry players and some forward-looking politicians have spoken of the huge
 opportunities in the transition to EVs, which will reshape not just the choice of cars, but also transport and energy infrastructure.
 Independent Senator Tim Storer gave an outstanding speech about how and why Australia should “play its way back” into the biggest
 transformation in transport since the advent of the ICE. “Australia is missing out on the $90 billion already invested in EV manufacturing,
 but the opportunities, and what it may miss out on in the future as well, are much broader and more significant. We by no means fully understand
 the extent to which this revolution will transform the way we live our lives. The danger is that without action, Australia will be left behind in yet
 another round of global disruption - we will again be held hostage to international developments, rather than reaping the benefits of helping
 to engineer the change.” Other politicians have also been awake to the possibilities of EV, and the innovation opportunities that it might bring with
 it. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is one, but nothing has happened since. Storer urged South Australia, for instance, to learn from Tesla in
 California, where the EV and storage company took over an old GM and Toyota factory to build its Model S EV. “Tesla’s success in establishing its
 manufacturing plant in California has proven what’s possible. It’s less than a year since Holden ceased its operations at its Elizabeth plant,
 meaning that much of the skilled workforce is still around, as is the site. Adelaide is also the perfect testing ground for new EV technologies
 and business models, given its high rooftop solar penetration, a world class university sector, a highly skilled labour force, and a sizable
 population. It’s not necessarily about convincing Toyota or GM to come back here; it’s about convincing the next EV start-up to choose
 Australia as its launch pad to pioneer disruptive innovations that match our natural strengths and competitive advantages.”
 Storer wants to look into the possibilities of EV manufacturing and associated industries. “We, perhaps more than any other country on earth,
 have all the right ingredients to be an EV manufacturing powerhouse. We essentially have all the natural and human resources needed
 to build an EV, from the lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite that goes into the batteries, to the steel, aluminium and plastics that go into
 the chassis and bodies. We also have the highly trained engineers and computer scientists to build the machines that will build the cars
 and the software that will operate them. All this offers the promise of vertical integration within a comparatively stable political environment.
 Storer noted that the EV uptake in Australia had been disappointing, just 0.2% of total sales in 2017, with few EV models available. “We lag
 5-10 years behind the rest of the developed world. We need a range of initiatives including tax concessions for companies that establish
 EV or EV component manufacturing in Australia; support for EV start-ups, and the introduction of long-awaited fuel efficiency standards
 for light vehicles.” Storer also proposed exempting EVs from the luxury car tax; working with State and Local Governments to coordinate
 and expand the roll out of charging infrastructure; and waiving of vehicle registration and stamp duties, along with free parking and use
 of bus lanes.“It’s also time for Government take the lead in driving EV uptake through aggressive fleet purchasing policies, and provide
 incentives for business to do likewise.” Sadly, this issue threatens to explode into another divide between the right wing of politics and
 the rest, as some form of “carbon tax” on cars.
 PwC earlier 2018 released a report outlining the significant economic benefits of EVs in Australia: “The EV transition will be one of the only
 major industry transitions that could deliver a boost to jobs rather than a reduction.” Another good reason to engage is Australia’s perilous
 reliance on imported fossil fuels, which could see consumers run out of fuel for transport within a couple of weeks of supply disruption.”
 https://reneweconomy.com.au/old-fossils-whats-at-stake-if-australia-ignores-global-ev-transition-83160/?utm_source=RE+Daily
 +Newsletter&utm_campaign=35ea9273cc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_46a1943223-35ea9273cc-40438741

 27

Australia’s EV misinformation: Federal Government
 THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT has:

 A projection of renewable energy useage
 which lags behind every State’s,
 except NSW & WA which have NO targets
 No carbon tax or equivalent
 No policy on electric vehicles or infrastructure

 [RenewEconomy, 4 June 2018]
 “In most States, however, and at the Federal
 Government level, little to nothing of any
 substance is happening at a policy level to
 encourage the mass market uptake of EVs - a
 state of affairs that has put Australia well behind
 most of the rest of the developed world.”
 https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-owners-roll-australia-
 wide-charging-network-evs-87935/?utm_source=RE+Daily
 +Newsletter&utm_campaign=3852bb6753-
 EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_04_02_15&utm_medium=e
 mail&utm_term=0_46a1943223-3852bb6753-40438741

 [The Guardian, 4 June 2018]
 “While battling internal pressures over the NEG, the
 Federal Government has also been stalling on
 new vehicle emissions standards for vehicles,
 bracing for more internal ructions. Motoring RenewEconomy, 23 February 2018; Map from Climate Council 2017
 groups have been lobbying against a 105g CO2/km
 emissions target.”

 28

Australia’s EV misinformation: Federal Government
 THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BUDGET (Delivered 8 May 2018) Transcript excerpts in BLUE

 DOES NOT MENTION CLIMATE CHANGE
 CONTAINS NOT A SINGLE RENEWABLE INITIATIVE - but terminates the renewable power station subsidy scheme, in 2020
 DOES NOT MENTION THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE REVOLUTION

 The sole reference to a renewable Australia, from Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison’s Budget Speech to Federal Parliament:
 “The National Energy Security Board estimates annual power bills will fall by $400 on average for every Australian household from
 2020, following the introduction of our National Energy Guarantee (NEG) (earlier in 2018). We will maintain our responsible and
 achievable emissions reduction target at 26-28%, and not the 45% demanded by the Opposition. That would only push electricity
 prices up. And we will not adopt the 50% Renewable Energy Target demanded by the Opposition that will also only put electricity
 prices up.
 All energy sources and technologies should support themselves without taxpayer subsidies. The current subsidy scheme will be
 phased out from 2020. And we will keep the pressure on the big energy companies to give you a better deal. Already this has led to
 households saving several hundred dollars a year.”
 The speech contained no initiatives on renewable energy or sustainability. No other mention of renewable energy, climate
 change, sustainability, electric vehicles, etc.

 The principal Budget measures from the Government are as follows:
 “In this 2018 Budget there are 5 things we must do to further strengthen our economy to guarantee the essentials Australians rely on.
 1. Provide tax relief to encourage and reward working Australians and reduce cost pressures on households, including lowering
 electricity prices,
 2. Keep backing business to invest and create more jobs, especially small and medium sized businesses,
 3. Guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on, like Medicare, hospitals, schools and caring for older Australians,
 4. Keep Australians safe, with new investments to secure our borders, and, as always,
 5. Ensure that the Government lives within its means, keeping spending and taxes under control.”
 The 5 “things we must do” contain no reference to a renewable Australia.

 https://www.budget.gov.au/2018-19/content/speech/index.html

 29

Australia’s EV misinformation: State Governments
 JOINT VICTORIAN UPPER HOUSE COMMITTEE “INQUIRY INTO ELECTRIC VEHICLES” REPORT [RenewEconomy, 4 June 2018]
 (185 pages)

 Just released Report. “In many places of the report is was acknowledged that Victoria is falling well behind the world (as well
 as many Australian States) in EV adoption support measures and preparations, that would offer a signal that the EV market will
 grow in Australia. It was even noted within the report that some Victorian local government regions have EV charging and fleet EV
 adoption strategies ahead of any Victorian state ones! Given that no State likes to feel that it is a laggard in setting policies that
 might encourage economic development (or that other States are swiping it from under their noses) it can be hoped that the Report
 at least alerts the Victorian Government to how far behind the eight ball it currently is.
 The Report’s principal recommendation: There are a number of ways the Victorian Government could assist with the uptake of electric
 vehicles in the private market, namely by:
 • Establishing a State EV target
 • Reducing the upfront costs for consumers of EVs in Victoria
 • Offering non‑financial incentives such as special vehicle lane access and parking privileges
 • Future-proofing Victoria by supporting the development of a comprehensive and reliable network of EV charging infrastructure
 Sadly, while the body of the Report (as well as many of its 27 findings) list the litany of ways that Victoria is falling behind in EV
 adoption strategies and preparations, as yet no concrete policies have even been hinted at by either of the major Victorian
 political parties. It is worth noting however that the Greens party have done so.”

 https://reneweconomy.com.au/victoria-adopt-electric-vehicle-target-86277/?utm_source=RE+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3852bb6753-
 EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_04_02_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_46a1943223-3852bb6753-40438741

 30

Australia’s EV misinformation: cities SYD-MEL-BRI
 LOW-COST, CITY-BASED EV POLICIES CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE [RenewEconomy, 1 June 2018]

 “Australian Federal and State Governments in general have a shameful record on vehicle fuel emissions and promotion of CO2
 emission reductions in vehicles. City-based policies would be far more effective. And the Mayors of Sydney, Melbourne and
 Brisbane could do far more to make EV’s popular at lower cost than just about anyone. But they do nothing. We particularly
 pick on Clover Moore, who loves to tout her green credentials but on this issue is invisible. Yet Sydney cries out for better transport
 solutions. It goes further than EVs, down to electric bikes, speed limited when they need not be, electric scooters etc.
 THE MESSAGE FROM OVERSEAS CITIES
 White Paper from the International Council on Clean Transportation “EV capitals of the world” (Mar 2017) made the following points:
 • In 2015 one third of global EV sales went to just 14 major world cities (in decreasing order of uptake): Oslo, Utrecht,
 Shanghai, Shenzhen, Amsterdam, San Jose, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Beijing, Stockholm, Zürich, Los Angeles, Paris, London
 • High EV take up was associated with charging infrastructure, promotion & unique policies. Policies included:
 • Rebates on EV sales costs
 • Free parking, free chargers, preferential parking permits
 • Waiving tunnel tolls in Norway (Sydney could give toll exemptions, massively attractive to Sydneysiders with crippling tolls)
 • Congestion zone tax relief in London
 • Carpool lanes, eg transit lanes exemption in Los Angeles (again, transit lane exemption would be attractive in Sydney)
 • Vehicle licensing policies (exemption from lotteries in Beijing and Shanghai, free registration)
 KEY EV CITIES – A VERY QUICK SNAP SHOT plus Sydney shown at bottom
 Shanghai (11% EVs): 2015 saw 11% of new vehicle sales as EVs,146 public chargers per million people, 21,700 chargers in total.
 Los Angeles (3% EVs): Federal tax credit $7500, State rebate $2500, city parking benefit, preferential access high density car lanes.
 Copenhagen (4% EVs): Has free rego, free parking and tax refunds on electricity used to charge EVs.
 Paris (2% EVs): Free parking, plus direct federal cash grant of up to 6,300 euros.
 Stockholm (4% EVs): Federal cash incentives, free parking.
 Oslo (27% EVs): Low road taxes, exempt from road and ferry tolls, bus lane access, free parking, free electricity for normal charging.
 Amsterdam (10% EVs): Federal incentives include rego & road tax exemption & 20% off price for electric trucks & buses up to 40000
 euros. City incentives: residential parking permit priority, free floating parking permits for carsharing companies with 100% EV fleets.
 London (1.5% EVs): Federal grant to 4500 sterling, additional 3000 sterling for electric taxi. Local exemption from congestion tax,
 free/reduced parking in some areas, central ultra low emission zone to start from 2019. All single deck buses to be ZEV by 2020, etc.
 Sydney (0.05% EVs): No policies, no credits.”
 https://reneweconomy.com.au/evs-clover-moore-sally-capp-graham-quirk-80557/

 31

Australia’s EV misinformation: the Murdoch press
 h"ps://reneweconomy.com.au/the-­‐an4-­‐wind-­‐and-­‐an4-­‐solar-­‐garbage-­‐fit-­‐to-­‐print-­‐in-­‐murdoch-­‐media-­‐70668/ 
  
 THE ANTI-WIND AND ANTI-SOLAR GARBAGE FIT TO PRINT IN MURDOCH MEDIA [RenewEconomy, 23 June 2016]
 “One day I expect to pick up a Murdoch newspaper and see a prominent and strident opinion piece proclaiming that the world is actually flat, not round. In the
 interim, we pick up the Murdoch media and have to wade through scientific bollocks of another type: that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the UN to keep
 everyone poor and subdued. Or that wind energy and solar energy are not really things at all.... The latest came this week - and not for the first time - from Keith de
 Lacy, a former Queensland Labor State Treasurer. His article is entitled ”Solar and wind simply don’t work, not here, not anywhere”. It proves that you don’t have to
 be a member of the conservative parties to believe and spread such tosh...the 76-year-old De Lacy is in the Labor right wing and wants to defend the fossil fuel
 industry. De Lacy’s piece, like so many others published by the Murdoch media on renewables and climate change, works on a single principle: the more lies you tell
 about the subject, and the more “facts” you turn, the more impressive it might sound. It is certainly designed to take a long time to repudiate. But that is what we
 have done. We have gone through the article piece by piece, myth by myth, fossil fuel fantasy by fossil fuel fantasy.
 “Have you ever seen an industry that so believed its propaganda?” de Lacy asks, in reference to renewables. Yes, the fossil fuel industry. Remember the “clean
 coal” CCS meme, and “coal is the only way to solve global poverty?” They are still parroted by the Federal Government, and even the NSW Coalition Government,
 which is investing yet more into the CCS boondoggle. De Lacy is a former Chairman of what was Australia’s biggest independent coal miner, Macarthur Coal, sold
 for a fortune to the world’s largest coal miner, Peabody Coal. It was a great deal for Macarthur shareholders and a lousy one for Peabody. But at Peabody, they
 didn’t just not believe in the science, they acted against it. And they didn’t read the signs. Just last year, de Lacy was still proclaiming the industry would turn around,
 that Peabody had a great future. A few months later Peabody filed for bankruptcy. There is a general admission that the coal industry is in structural decline, never to
 recover. Hence the screaming & railing of coal industry refugees & climate change skeptics & their new attachment to the nuclear bandwagon. De Lacy reproduces
 the same myths constantly circulated in the Murdoch and other conservative media, as well as among coal & nuclear advocates about renewables. This one: “Every
 kilowatt has to be backed up by conventional power, dreaded fossil fuels...So we have two capital spends for the same output - one for the renewable and one for
 the conventional backup.” No. Every power system needs backup, whether it is coal, nuclear, gas or renewables. If a big nuclear power plant is built, say Hinkley C
 reactor in UK, it needs a significant amount of new backup in case it goes suddenly offline. The UK National Grid estimates this costs ca $12 bn. South Australia has
 reached nearly 50% wind & solar without the need for extra backup, because it had already been built to backup existing fossil fuels. “When they eulogise the future
 of renewables they point to targets, or to costly investments, never to the real contribution to supply.” That’s not right, either. Most policies framed by governments
 have a specific contribution in mind. The 50% targets by various State Labor governments, the 100% targets by the ACT, the 90% target by the Greens. And there
 are the 100% scenarios canvassed by many, including the Australian Energy Market Operator.
 Morris on De Lacy’s ridiculous claims on the international markets: The opinion piece entitled “Solar and wind power simply don’t work - not here, not anywhere”
 in The Australian shows the hopelessness of fighting wind and solar. Germany has spent $US100 bn on solar technology representing less than 1% of their
 electricity supply. Germany had nearly 6% solar last year, including power exports, which have risen to a record level. Skeptics said the German switch to
 renewables would make the country reliant upon power imports, but the opposite has happened - because wind and solar can grow really, really quickly. The cost of
 solar has plummeted, so to compare historic PV prices to current ones, you need to divide by 3, say, for 2006 prices v 2016. “Reportedly German electricity prices
 increased by 78% between 2005-2014 as they forced additional renewable capacity into their electricity markets.” Retail prices in Germany are up, but wholesale
 (industry) power prices are down. Germany went from 6% green power in 2000 to 33% last year as a % of demand (excl exports). “The Germans are rueing the day
 they decided to save the world by converting to solar and wind.” Um, no.
 “China built one new coal-fired power plant every week in 2014, and India’s coal-powered investment in that same year equalled the total electricity capacity of NSW
 and Queensland.” MW ≠ MWh. The plants were built, but are running at lower capacity. China has reportedly reached peak coal and “fossil fuel subsidies” have lead
 to overcapacity. Analysts say China has 100 GW of excess coal capacity alone.
 “The good news, it is possible to reduce fossil fuel use in electricity generation - through hydro-electricity and nuclear fuel. Plenty of countries have done it - Canada
 60% hydro & 15% nuclear; Sweden 45% & 48%; Switzerland 54% & 41%; France 11% & 79%.” Governments threw cash at nuclear for decades and doubted wind
 and solar would work. But all the countries listed are having trouble adding new nuclear at anywhere near the rate at which they are building solar and wind. France
 has not added a reactor since 2000, aiming to build 170 by then but only reaching 1/3 of that level. All these facts are available for free online. The real story is that
 wind and solar grow faster than anyone ever expected, almost uncontrollably, generally surpassing targets, while nuclear has never met a target set anywhere. On
 De Lacy’s claim “As of 2013 California was the only state to adopt a feed-in tariff for solar power”: actually, there are 44 states. As for utility-scale solar plants, recent
 tenders in the US have shown bids of just US 4c/kWh. Even if you back out the tax break, it still comes up to 6c/kWh, locked in for 20 years. That’s cheaper than
 coal or gas in the US, which is one reason why solar accounts for more than 2/3 of new capacity in the world’s biggest economy.
 32