exaltedsnail

The unfortunate reality is that possibly the biggest contributor to higher prices is the phasing out of coal. Without coal there is no cheap base load - unless you happen to be somewhere blessed with hydro - and the market ends up swinging between feast and famine based on the availability of renewables.

Obviously there are very good reasons to get rid of coal, but it leads to higher prices. Reducing fossil fuels in the grid will be expensive and I worry that the lack of candor from politicians on this will end up making the transition more difficult politically.

This couldn't be further from the truth. Arable farm land is very expensive here.