100 Percent Renewable Goal Drives SA Energy Costs to ‘Highest in the Country’: CEO

The SA Chamber of Mines and Energy says the cost of backing up the system has also multiplied.

A single wind turbine provides electricity for 40 homes in the remote outback town of Coober Pedy, South Australia on July 5, 2005. Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images

The government’s pursuit of 100 percent renewables is pushing South Australia’s (SA) energy prices to the highest in the country, an Australian parliamentary committee has been told.

At a recent inquiry on introducing civilian nuclear power locally, Rebecca Knol, the CEO of the peak SA Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME), said the speedy push to adopt renewables had a marked impact on energy prices in her state.