Last Tuesday night 16 April, the ABC show Four Corners presented an excellent documentary investigating Australia's renewable energy options and the debate surrounding their viability, government support and costs. A transcript of the show is available as a video on demand here.
Wind, solar, geothermal and coal were all discussed and pros and cons investigated. What was obvious is that the Australian Government has a long way to go before it even starts to embrace renewables over coal.
Ian Macfarlane, The Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, was interviewed and towed the party line, avoiding any real commitment and trotting out all the usual excuses such as to why clean coal will be our saviour.
With an election coming up latter in the year, hopefully we get a government that is both forward thinking and prepared to take Australia's long term energy needs seriously.
