Energy expert claims Labor's net zero pursuit creating 'a big mess', wind and solar causing power prices to 'spike'

Sky News AU

2 hours ago

Centre for Independent Studies energy analyst Zoe Hilton has claimed the Albanese government's pursuit of net zero was creating a "big mess", warning wind and solar were causing power prices to "spike continuously".
Since winning the federal election, Labor has doubled down on its ambitious plan to ensure 82 per cent of the nation's energy comes from renewables by 2030.
The push toward net zero has prompted warnings over rising electricity prices and the risk of compromising Australia's long-term energy security.
It has also sparked heated debate over costs, with Ms Hilton highlighting the government's push to encourage home battery installation as she argued subsidies were being provided "hand over fist".
"They're expecting consumers to buy these batteries, install them, and then hand the keys back over to the grid," she told Sky News Australia.
"Consumers don't want to do that because batteries are very expensive and anyone buying a battery does it because really they want their own autonomy.
"That means that the government has to hand out even more subsidies and so, of course, we've seen a pretty big uptick in battery uptake purely because the government is giving people money hand over fist for this."
Ms Hilton claimed that rather than focusing on how net zero could or should be achieved, the government needed to simply ensure Australians had access to the cheapest and most reliable source of energy available.
Despite this, she noted the release of a new Productivity Commission report into the energy transition did little to discuss how power prices could be quickly and effectively reduced.
"The way I would describe the Productivity Commission's report is: 'How can we take taxpayers' money, put it in a hole, and set it on fire more productively?'," the energy analyst said.
"That's essentially what they're saying, because they're trying to get these uneconomic projects rammed through even faster. They barely talk about how do we make energy cheaper.
"At the end of the day, they barely talk how do lower electricity prices, which is what actually will drive productivity in our country, because electricity being cheap is what modern society relies on.
"They just have no idea that wind and solar are the very things that are causing electricity prices to spike continuously."
In its report, the Commission argued overlap and gaps in existing emissions reductions policies, as well as the broken approvals process for renewables projects were key factors in slowing the energy transition and contributing to higher costs.
According to Ms Hilton, though, the issue remained that agencies continued to focus on the wrong problem, claiming continuing to attempt achieving net zero would simply result in a "big mess."