Well, that's what they say Kippax, and it's all relative. Their...

Well, that's what they say Kippax, and it's all relative. Their massive might be someone else's relatively minor.

However, it is true that renewable incentives can get countries into budget problems. Just look at Spain where the Government has accumulated huge debts due to unsustainable incentives for renewable power that weren't passed on to consumers. They actually do have a massive deficit, and their renewable incentives have been suspended. It's probably the reason PTR hasn't trumpeted its Spanish geothermal projects as they're unlikely to be commercially viable without the incentives.

Our market-based carbon tax does have a mechanism to pass costs to consumers but it seems Tony and co don't want to do that, preferring tax-payers to foot the bill via their Direct Action Plan (admittedly capped, unlike Spain, but at a very low level).

On the other hand, sales of rooftop solar PVs are booming, proving that reasonable cost pressures can be accepted by adaptable consumers.

I don't think PTR has any choice but to move on, leaving just GDY as Australia's geothermal flagship. I doubt they'll find the $5 mill - Australia's wholesale electricity price is just too low to provide encouragement for renewables development (even with LRET), and that seems unlikely to change with the current Government's policies.