Magic

In a land far, far away, where unicorns roam the forests and mermaids splash merrily in the shallows, the energy transition is going so great its ultimate victory over the fantastical disease of climate pollution is only a matter of time. All right, time and a little effort to make the unwashed masses understand that this victory is only a matter of time.

In that land, the “Nuclear power pitch has magical thinking at core”, the “Rich must pay for others to go green”, “UK vies with Germany to be European EV champion”, and liquid air may be the next frontier in energy storage because obviously all other frontiers have been crossed and the land beyond conquered. Yes, I realise these read like a selection out of the Babylon Bee. They are not.

Let’s start with the nuclear magical thinking story. In it, the author, a Reuters Breakingviews columnist with a reasonably decent portfolio, suggests he has a personal problem with nuclear power. Nuclear power plants, he says, take very long to build — true enough — they are often over budget — probably also true — and, until all the planned nuclear capacity is built, “the country would have to rely on increasingly unreliable coal-fired power stations for years longer than expected.”

That last bit is interesting. If called upon — and even if I’m not — I would describe it as deliberate projection although this may be unfair and the author may be projecting the flaws of wind and solar onto coal inadvertently. With a man of his experience and expertise, however, I doubt that. He doubles down, too, claiming that the volatility of coal has already increased the electricity bills of Australians.

As is typical of these stories, there is not a single word about the fact that the surge in wind and solar, and the related demotion of much coal capacity to backup status have added to the operating costs of power plants. This has not made coal unreliable but as we know, in this day and age, words can mean whatever you want them to mean.

So, what else is new, I hear someone ask at the back. Well, nothing much really, but we’re moving well and truly fast into the stratosphere of the transition struggle. The land of unicorns and mermaids wants to be real, so it is painting disaster as progress. Yes, again.