Category: Archive

In late May, oil began to flow for the first time into China from Central Asia through a 970 kilometre pipeline from Kazakhstan, reported The Australian Financial Review (13/6/2006, p. 12).

Pipeline to grow to 3000km: This is expected to grow into a 3000km pipeline to move oil from the Caspian Sea to eastern China each year. It could supply the equivalent of 15 per cent of China’s current crude oil imports.

Threat to US influence: Uzbekistan signed a $US600 million joint energy exploration deal with China earlier this year. The development of the SCO into a joint security grouping is also viewed as an attempt to curb US influence in the region.

Joint military exercises held: Joint military exercises were held in March on territories in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to practise interaction between security structures to neutralise terrorist groups.

The Australian Financial Review, 13/6/2006, p. 12

Source: Erisk Net  

When it comes to energy policy Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley is talking populist rubbish, claimed correspondent Tim Hughes in The Courier Mail (10 June 2006, p.80).

Labor offering no real alternative: Beazley’s claim that all Australia needs is cheap renewable energy sounds attractive, but it is not an alternative policy. "The truth is that the two main alternative energy sources that the Opposition Leader talks about, wind and solar, are hopelessly uneconomic."

Wind farms require heavy subsidies: Mr Hughes said major superannuation funds, whose investments he manages, own interests in a significant number of wind farms. Each and every one of them would be totally unviable without very heavy subsidies.

Solar even worse: "Their average cost of production is over twice that from a base load coalfired power station. The situation for solar is even worse, with effective power costs well over twice those of wind," Mr Hughes said.

50 year-plus pay-off period: He continued: "The pay-off period for solar panels is around 50 years, and that is with a zero rate of return on investment. Not only is this a long period, but the panels only have a working life of 30 to 40 years."

And Howard no better than Beazley: The claim by the Federal Environment Minister that the Government was "massively incentivising" solar and wind was also utter rubbish, Mr Hughes added. "No one in their right mind would build a wind farm in Australia at the moment and it is all because of the Federal Government."

The Courier Mail, 10/6/2006, p. 80

Source: Erisk Net