From William Hughes-Games, Waipara, New Zealand
Michael Marshall reports on fears that a conference on scientific reproducibility has a hidden agenda to create doubt about climate change and hence support the fossil fuel industry (1 February, p 11). If so, its organisers are fighting a rearguard action to try to delay their retreat.
Wind and solar is now less expensive than coal. Add the economic success of the Australian mega-battery (15 July 2017, p 6), which I understand was on track to produce revenue equal to almost a third of its capital costs after a year of operation, and the writing is on the wall.
Economics is a more powerful motivator than street protests and outraged articles. The icing on the cake is that when you install a tranche of solar panels or wind turbines, it immediately goes into operation, providing revenue to fund the next installation. A coal-powered generator, in contrast, has to be completed before producing any revenue.
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