Microgrid announcement causes great debate

Hugh Spencer's letter regarding the Daintree Microgrid is little more than a bad joke. One of the most sickening things for me this Christmas was his gloating letter, celebrating the closing down of Federal funding for the Daintree Renewable Microgrid.

Again and again, Spencer has said a simple upgrade of people's current RAPS systems will solve the problem. But it won't. These systems have batteries and other components that fail, and when you add up the costs per year over time, given the same electricity usage, a 'power bill' would probably be cheaper.

Only if some mug provides them for free are they potentially valuable, and even then how many will be upgraded when the time comes for expensive batteries to be replaced. Or will another grant be needed?

It's not only that. Older people struggle with these systems, and judging by the number of folk rolling up to our one local servo with a jerrycan, back up is needed often enough for most of the systems, ironically I am told, including Hugh's.

Paying for upgrades to RAPS is simply kicking the can down the road for someone else to fix. No proposal I have seen deals with the businesses except the Microgrid. (I wonder why we support it?)

Hugh is correct that five (not 'many' as he claims) businesses have installed solar to some level under disaster relief grants, but in two of those cases I doubt the system would run the entire business, and none of them will if it is cloudy for days on end. So back to the generator.

Jabalbina, Volt and the experts (you know, the people Hugh tells us to believe all the time, except for this) believe very strongly that a renewable microgrid is the best way forward. Only Labor and the Greens, advised by 1980s relics, see it differently.

The inference that somehow our wiring is not up to scratch is ludicrous. I can only assume Hugh is talking about his own premises? Those of us like me who are only moderately professional can manage electrical and gas certification, and understand that this is crucial for insurance if not safety. You would think that a Professor's place would be fully compliant? You don't get a free pass for being off grid.

The reality is that there are mean spirited greenies who will do whatever it takes to drag this place back to a low income hovel. Some are on the boards of green energy companies who advise the State. Some are ex politicians who are perhaps still smarting from getting the boot. Others simply don't want others to live, see or experience what they have. Some are financially secure and genuinely don't want to hook up to a grid, but still want to lord it over others, when there is no compulsion to connect.