...NOT WITHOUT HONOR...:

While it's too late to dodge this bullet, we can prepare for future shocks by doubling down on firmed renewables. The faster we move, the less we'll be hit by the price and reliability risks of coal.

Already under pressure from cheaper renewable technologies, coal power station operators now find themselves potentially facing much higher costs in the short-term. There's no relief for coal in the long term either, with the rapid rise of renewables and other zero-carbon technologies.

Not only that, but most of our coal power stations are near the end of their lives, and industry doesn't want to build new ones. That means coal will become more and more expensive, as the plants become increasingly unreliable.

Wind and solar technologies are now much cheaper per unit of energy generated and can be integrated with energy storage to provide dispatchable "firmed" energy. The faster we transition to renewables firmed by storage, the better.

If we do this, our new grid will also be more reliable. Continuing to rely upon coal is like relying upon a 1970s car to travel from Sydney to Melbourne on the hottest day of the year.

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