city of sydney trigen master plan w fuel cells, page-31

MAP's

Post above highlights the approach CFU should be taking with Govt's. And to be fair, maybe they are.

On Sunday electricity bills in NSW go up 20%. Apparently, half of that increase relates to the carbon tax the other half is that crazy infrastructure charge that distribution companies get away with. What a business model, they are guaranteed a return on their investment by price regulators. So the more they spend, the more they make.

We are increasing the distribution system at a time when overall electricity consumption is reducing. I see two main problems with this. First, the distribution cost per unit of consumption will have to rise because less electricity is being sold. Second, there will be reduced incentive to invest in electricity generation due to decreased demand. This will be exacerbated by Australia's high dollar and high electricity cost which will inevitably result in the loss of major manufacturers (like alcoa after the handouts end). As we de-industrialise demand for electricity will fall even further.

The sad reality is that the $11 billion being spent on wires and poles just to meet 4hrs of demand each year could have been spent on better things. That sort of money would fund the installation of more than 1 million bluegens producing 1,500 MW of decentralised base load. Time to rethink the way we deliver electricity.

Even if nothing changes, the long term position is clear. The per unit cost of electricity is set to rise substantially largely driven by the distribution expenses. So the less electricity you take from the grid, the less you will pay for the poles and wires. This will eventually change the game for bluegen so long as gas prices stay fairly static.

The other crazy thing is the amount of CO2 that is imbedded in the steel used in the wires and poles and used by the machinery that installs them.

Well that is my end of year rant. Happy New Financial Year everyone. Let's hope we have a better 2012/13 than 2011/12!