Most Western countries, stampeded by climate activists, peer pressure and the UN elites, promise to go carbon neutral by mid-century.
Surprisingly very few countries have made a serious independent estimate of the cost.
Any country aiming to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions must replace all fossil fuel burning equipment with carbon-free equipment and generators. Where that is not possible, carbon offsets must be employed.
Both the Coalition government and the Australian Labor Party have committed Australia to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
So now it is imperative to closely examine what such a commitment really means for Australia as neither party has released detailed costings.
I have carried out an extensive study of the cost and logistics for Australia to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The full report can be read here.
To achieve the target, Australia will need to install a massive amount of wind turbines, rooftop solar systems and solar farms.
For stability of electricity supply, a system of CO2-free base-load power must also be installed, either by nuclear power generation or by a system of utility-scale battery systems.
This report provides costings for each base-load power option.
For the nuclear power generation option, I calculate the total cost of net-zero for Australia by 2050 as 1.4 trillion dollars.
As both Liberal and Labor governments appear too timid to stand up to the Greens anti-nuclear stance, it is very likely Australia will opt for batteries for base-load power.
Based on the United States Energy Information Administration figures for battery costs, I calculate the cost of achieving net-zero with a battery system as 4.47 trillion dollars.
As well as the astronomical cost of achieving net-zero by 2050, the logistics of installing the renewables infrastructure will be impossible to achieve in the time frame.
A total of 125,000 wind turbines will be needed. If construction started on 1st January 2023, 386 wind turbines would need to be installed every month, or 13 every day, until 2050.
In the same time frame, 19,000 solar rooftop systems would need to be installed every month.
A total of 23,000 solar farms must be built, at the rate of 71 per month.
Any politician promising to take Australia to net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 has either never studied the costs and logistics, or is deliberately hiding the information.
Read the 21-page report, showing all calculations and sources for the above information.