Australia is now reaping the fruit of the Green madness, and will continue to do so for at least the next decade, or longer if we pursue the Net Zero madness.

Last night, NSW was warned about a potential power shortage from 6 pm to 8 pm. Rolling blackouts were a possibility, we were told.

We dodged the proverbial bullet last night, but it could be on again tonight. If not tonight, then maybe next week. We are only two weeks into winter, and this is where we have got to. Then there is the next peak season, called summer.

The solution to this situation, we are told is more solar and wind power. Solar power will not make a scrap of difference in the evening peak in winter, because it is dark. Here in Narrabri for the last few days it has been very calm, so not much wind power either.

For the last 20 years, successive Governments have been telling us that we have to move away from “fossil fuels” for our power generation. The result is that generator companies have taken the hint and not invested in maintaining or upgrading their facilities. So, over the next few years, coal-powered electricity will virtually disappear from Australia. Ironic, when we have so much “clean” coal in this country that we are sending overseas.

At the same time, the same Governments have been telling us that gas is a good “transition” power source. It is true that gas generators are more responsive to demand and gas produces more energy per tonne of CO2 emitted. But, these Governments have also prevented the gas companies from extracting coal seam gas from most of the country.

So at the time when we most need natural gas as a backup for our electricity grid, there is a huge shortage because of Government policies. The world price of natural gas is high because of the Russia- Ukraine war, and we have lakes of it underground just waiting to be tapped.

Now we have this crazy situation where the electricity regulator has imposed a price cap on wholesale electricity of $300/MW hr (The price used to be about $30, that is how bad things have got). At this price natural gas power generators cannot make a profit, so they don’t want to operate. We have a couple of coal-fired generators under maintenance that was delayed, because there is no point in spending too much on them when they will close in a couple of years anyway.

This is where following the policies demanded by green activists gets you to. The next few years are going to be worse as we close down coal. When electric cars become a significant part of the vehicle fleet, the demand for electricity will be double what it is now.

It is actually worse than that, when you consider how people live. You get home from work, what do you do? Plug your car in, turn the heater or air conditioner on (full blast at first because you’ve been out all day), put the kettle on, then turn on the stove to cook dinner.

That time from 6 pm to 8 pm, when the sun has gone down and the wind is usually calm will for ever be a tight wire act for our power system.

Welcome to our brave new future of Net Zero.