Getting efficient will end winters of discontent

As winter looms, our perennial rain worries can’t be far behind. Will we get enough to keep our hydro turbines spinning?

Nobody knows, but our preoccupation distracts us from the real problem. We are hopelessly hooked on the supply side of the electricity equation. We believe more generating capacity and more transmission lines are the only way to satisfy our hunger for power.

And our appetite is insatiable. Our energy intensity – the amount of power we consume to produce $US1000 of GDP – has not changed in the past 30 years, whereas the OECD’s average intensity has fallen by about a third.

Stuff