If it’s not bad enough that globalist institutions like the UN are openly admitting that climate change alarmism is just leverage for imposing their wealth redistribution agenda, shiftless corporations are getting in on the act. Wherever there’re mounds of government money, you’ll always find rent-seekers with their hands out. Energy companies are some of the worst offenders: think Solyndra in the US, who pocketed hundreds of millions of US taxpayers’ money before going belly-up.
Similarly, climate spruiker Tim Flannery’s geothermal company, Geodynamics, trousered millions without ever delivering for the taxpayers it sponged off.
Yet still the rivers of government cash keep flowing to useless “renewable” projects – and the corporate mendicants are begging for more.
Power giant Origin Energy has warned against extending the life of coal plants without the government providing a ‘‘carbon signal’’ and urged an end to the decade-long energy war to help spur investment and shift the electricity grid towards renewables.
While coal stations face the prospect of being forced out of Australia’s power grid earlier than forecast by the rise of solar and wind generation, the nation’s largest energy retailer said governments should resist “picking winners” in the eventual path to a clean energy-dominated grid.
Unless it’s “winners” that are guaranteed to send electricity prices spiralling and siphon off the ever-growing river of government subsidies.
Origin chief [Frank Calabria] hinted at the need for a form of carbon pricing to allow the smoothest transition for the energy grid, but said policymakers seemed reluctant to consider such a move with Malcolm Turnbull’s strongly supported National Energy Guarantee dumped last year.
“The push for a market-based mechanism that deals with emissions and reliability seems to have fallen away.”
theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/dont-extend-coal-power-plants-origin/
Of course it has. That would mean that energy corporation would have to gamble with their own money. Far easier to keep leeching off the taxpayer.
The Morrison government isn’t buying it.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan has slammed Origin Energy’s call for Australia to resist extending the life of coal plants, and blamed the power giant for helping to create an energy “mess” which it now profits from…
“I reckon we should do the opposite of what the big energy companies say because they are a big reason why we are in this mess. They have no interest in ending a mess that they make lots of money out of. So let’s build coal!,” Mr Canavan said on Twitter…
Origin could not have it both ways, Mr Canavan added.
“So Origin Energy reckons we shouldn’t pick ‘winners’ in energy but then in the same speech says we should pick anything but coal.”
Origin’s stance is at odds with its membership of the Business Council of Australia, according to green activist group Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.
“Pretty rich from Frank Calabria who sits on the BCA’s Energy & Climate Committee,” ACCR’s Dan Gocher tweeted. “The BCA has repeatedly called for investment in existing coal-fired power stations. Which is it Origin Energy?”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/resources-minister-matt-canavan-attacks-origin-energy-bosss-coal-warning
The answer is simple: whichever will deliver them more of that sweet, sweet taxpayers’ money they’ve become addicted to.