You're right Sierra, coal, oil and gas will be in high demand for a long time, but the fact this solar thermal project won a competitive tender suggests to me that this could be a major turning point, ie the writing is on the wall.
Demand for these fossil fuels will continue because that's the infrastructure in place now. But's that's not forever and as these industrial relics come to the end of their economic life, they'll be replaced by the latest technologies, such as solar thermal.
Indeed, the competitive edge in lower power prices from these new sources will surely hasten the demise of the legacy fossil fuel-based industry.
State govts haven't been the most adventurous when it comes to harvesting energy from sources other than coal and gas. So, it's hats off to SA for being the first. To be sure, once this project is up and running in 2020, others will scramble to follow. The lure: zero emissions and low cost power is pretty attractive.
