Our Manifesto
We believe in taking back ownership of the term ‘Fair Dinkum Power’ for Australians. We are a movement. We are a brand for Australia’s energy future. We are a rallying cry for all who believe in the power of the wind, the sun, the waves and – most importantly – the power of the people of Australia. For energy to be fair dinkum, it must be honestly good for our wallets, good for our economy and good for our planet.We believe our power can be clean, cheap, reliable and Australian.Clean – Our nation is blessed with renewable resources. We have more sun, wind and hydro resources than coal, gas and oil combined. We already have the technology to run our country, our homes and our businesses entirely on renewable energy — generation that doesn’t add carbon dioxide and many other pollutants to our atmosphere.Australians are already voting for this with their own wallets. We have the highest penetration of household solar in the world with over 1.97 million houses having installed rooftop solar. Cheap – Even just five years ago, renewable energy was more expensive. Today, that is just not true. Utility-scale wind and solar farms are cheaper today to build and operate over their lifetimes than any other source of generation. Their “fuel” cost is $0. Their build cost and speed are unmatchable. And costs continue to fall each year. Faster than projections.
Snowy Hydro (the utility owned by the Federal Government itself) recently contracted 888MW of new wind and solar capacity. With their pre-existing storage they can deliver a firm product for less than $70/MWh. Cheaper than the wholesale price of power in the National Energy Market. New coal power stations don’t come close. This is the reason we haven’t built a new coal plant in Australia since 2007.Reliable – Wind and solar are variable, but they are highly predictable. Coupled with existing hydroelectric dams, energy storage (batteries and pumped hydro) and smarter grids we can economically deliver reliable, renewable energy today. We have the world’s largest battery in SA. At launch, the Hornsdale Power Reserve was three times larger than any other lithium ion battery ever built. The megabattery has amazed the market with its speed, accuracy and flexibility. While naysayers thought it could take three years to build, it was delivered in less than 100 days – before the heat of last summer arrived. And the best bit? It’s on track to making back a third of its cost in its first year.
Australian – We are an independent and optimistic nation – we get stuff done. We’re pragmatic and egalitarian – ‘a fair go’ is in our bones. We are tenacious and forward thinking – we have a proud history of world-leading innovations and engineering projects. We are a country capable of working together to achieve big visions.We want our energy system to represent our country. To be Australian.
Our Future – We are driven by a common vision to have Australia be powered by 200% renewable energy.Beyond 100%, we have a massive economic opportunity in this transition. Job creation from the infrastructure investments is already happening. Cheap, clean energy powering our homes, transportation and manufacturing will result in lower fossil fuel imports and a new competitive advantage for Australia. Exporting our massive renewable resources to the world (by undersea cables, via ammonia or hydrogen or finished goods) has the potential to exceed our existing coal and gas exports.
The Economically Demonstrated Resource (EDR) value of our wind and solar resources within 10km of our existing transition grid – which represents 4% of our total renewable resource – have been estimated to have enough energy to power the entire world for 10 years. This EDR is 75% greater than that of our combined coal, oil, gas and uranium resources. There are already projects underway to export these resources. We want Australia to be a great place to live for future generations. However, we know that is under threat from climate change. Australians don’t run away from a challenge – Fair Dinkum Power not only makes economic sense, but it helps us do our bit to ensure that our kids and grandkids enjoy the great quality of life we have. We believe we can become a renewable energy superpower. We believe in Fair Dinkum Power.Do you believe it?
Join the movement: Please note: our energy mix and network structure are incredibly complex topics. We’ve tried to simplify in order to communicate clearly while still maintaining accuracy.