DEAR News Of The Area,

IN this whole energy discussion, there seems to be one cost we hear little about, that is the cost to the environment.

With renewables, thousands of hectares of wilderness and bushland, including wildlife habitat, have been and will continue to be, cleared for wind farms, solar farms and transmission lines.

In NSW, if a regulation is accidentally breached in a native forest harvesting operation, the Environmental Protection Authority is all over it, issuing huge fines and splashing it across the media.

Yet when swathes of wilderness and bushland, across the nation, are bulldozed in the name of renewables, the trees and ecosystems affected seem to be regarded as collateral damage, not worth mentioning!

Where are the protestors?

Our landscapes and productive farmland across the nation are being severely compromised to install these renewables which, in 20 years or so, need replacing, and then become landfill.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned that a six-fold increase in large-scale wind and solar is needed to meet future demands.

That’s a lot of clearing and landfill!

It is imperative that nuclear, a dependable, zero emissions, base-load power, is considered as part of Australia’s future energy mix, for when the sun doesn’t shine, the wind doesn’t blow, the batteries run low and Snowy hydro’s a no-go.

Seven proposed nuclear power plant sites have been identified at the sites of existing coal power stations.

Existing transmission lines and essential access roads would be used.

The environmental footprint would be minimal whilst the remaining wilderness, bushland, farmland and the oceans for which Australia is renowned, wouldn’t need to be touched.

To paraphrase Dick Smith, “We don’t have to destroy the environment to save the environment!”

Regards,
Ann THOMPSON,
Coffs Harbour.