In which Graham Lloyd reminds the world it's coal, coal, coal for Australia ...

On the one hand, the reptiles of Oz have today been running about like headless chooks, worried about all the outrageous anti-coal talk ...

Damn you, wind, and your windy presence ... you're ruining everything, and as for that ACT cardigan wearer turning up on RN to boast how Canberra was going to be getting 90% of its energy through renewables and talking about how the cardigans loved the sight and smell and roar of a wind turbine in the morning, here, the pond was shocked, shocked beyond measure ..

And how efficient were those coal-fired power stations?

The two Alinta plants at one stage supplied up to 40 per cent of South Australia's baseload generation, but had been operating less regularly in recent years, with Playford mothballed for the past three or four years. One unit at the Northern plant had a fire last weekend and had to be shut down as a precaution. 
Alinta chief executive Jeff Dimery said the company had "left no stone unturned" in endeavouring to keep the plants running, including considering potential renewable energy projects and government assistance programs. Since Alinta had taken over the plants in 2011 it had incurred about $100 million in operating losses, while at the same time investing an additional $200 million to extend their operating life, Mr Dimery said. Despite a 20 per cent improvement in efficiency across the Flinders business, revenue was unable to cover costs. 
"There was still quite a void," Mr Dimery said, pointing to the 200 kilometres of rail transport required to shift coal from the mine site to the plants, which counted against the power stations compared to rivals in Victoria. 
Increased energy efficiency by households, the rise of rooftop solar and a decline in the industrial load all contributed, as well as the RET, he said. 
Together those factors "had the effect of causing a significant oversupply of power available to South Australia". 
"We now believe there can be no expectation that the Flinders business can return to profitability." (here). 

Damn you wind, how many times have we told you not to dress up as rooftop solar? We're on to your little game ...

Ah, don't you worry about that. Just talk about the wind presence in a windy way and you'll be sure to wind up the windy...

What was needed was a steady hand, a cool, reassuring head, and thank the long absent lord, the reptiles have them in abundance, desperate to sing the siren song of coal, coal, coal for Australia and the wooorrrld ...

Come on down, scientific one ...

Uh huh.

But here's the interesting thing. As the denialists made hay in the comments section below, for the life of the pond it couldn't find an author credit on the piece itself.

Who knows if it was by Graham Lloyd?

Strange, you'd think he'd have been enormously, inordinately proud of the piece:

So it's not about ideology and the political contest, it's about cost, yet the enduring challenge and political contest, and perhaps ideology is all about cost ... and money in the pockets of old coal ...

So does coal receive any subsidies?

If it's such damn cheap solution, is it true that Australian coal, oil and gas companies receive $4 billion in subsidies ... while the contributions in other countries is something to see?

The pond now takes you to the reptiles' lengthy campaign against coal subsidies ...

Sorry about the sound of those crickets ...

And what about the climate science?

Don't be silly. Please see important standard denialist comments below the piece ..

Oh dear, there's always one foolish possum who apparently has wasted money to argue with the denialists.

Put him in his warmist place please, shame him for reading a stray Pom furiously suggesting Leading Tory MP calls Tony Abbott's climate change policies 'incomprehensible' to the Fairfaxians!

Take that warmists.

And so another day passes on the warm rock available to all in climate denialist lizard la la land ...

Just one footnote.

Actually it's nullius in verba and by a stroke of consummate irony, that happens to be the motto of the Royal Society, and by an even greater stroke of irony, the damn place is a veritable hothouse of warmists:

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, accompanied by sea-level rise, a strong decline in Arctic sea ice, and other climate-related changes. 
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) absorb heat (infrared radiation) emitted from Earth’s surface. Increases in the atmospheric concentrations of these gases cause Earth to warm by trapping more of this heat. Human activities - especially the burning of fossil fuels since the start of the Industrial Revolution - have increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations by about 40%, with more than half the increase occurring since 1970. Since 1900, the global average surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F). This has been accompanied by warming of the ocean, a rise in sea level, a strong decline in Arctic sea ice, and many other associated climate effects. Much of this warming has occurred in the last four decades. Detailed analyses have shown that the warming during this period is mainly a result of the increased concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Continued emissions of these gases will cause further climate change, including substantial increases in global average surface temperature and important changes in regional climate. The magnitude and timing of these changes will depend on many factors, and slowdowns and accelerations in warming lasting a decade or more will continue to occur. However, long-term climate change over many decades will depend mainly on the total amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted as a result of human activities ... (here)

Damned warmists. Better get back to those observations which the pond is so much better placed to conduct than thousands of scientists out there in the field ...