Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been criticized by the former boss of Snowy Hydro 2.0 over the government’s plan to transition Australia to renewable energy within eight years.
“The idea that we could have 80 percent renewable energy sources by 2030 is nonsense***,” CEO Paul Broad told Radio 2GB in a shocking interview on Thursday morning.
“The truth is… this transition (to renewables), if it ever comes, it will take 80 years… not eight.”
Fordham’s colleague Ray Hadley also had some choice words for the Secretary of Climate Change and Energy.
“I don’t think Paul (Broad) was strong enough. Chris Bowen is…in my opinion, the worst federal minister we’ve had since federation (in 1901),’ Hadley said.
Albanian government minister Chris Bowen has been criticized by the former boss of Snowy Hydro 2.0 for his views on how quickly Australia can transition to renewable energy. Windmills are depicted
After serious delays, Snowy 2.0 — the $2 billion project that promises to store enough energy to power three million homes — won’t be fully operational until December 2029.
Mr Broad, who was the CEO of Snowy 2.0 for nearly a decade, said this means Mr Bowen has to face some ‘hard truths’.
“The idea that we could have 80 percent renewables by 2030 is bullshit,” he told host Ben Fordham.
‘Eraring can’t close… If the lights don’t go out I’ll be extremely surprised,’ said Mr Broad, referring to the Eraring coal-fired power station in NSW, which is expected to close in 2025.
He said he resigned as CEO of Snowy Hydro last August after nine years in charge because after Mr Bowen became the energy minister, “I was dead in the water so it was only a matter of time before I formally resigned’.
Mr Broad said he and the minister disagreed on ‘a number of things’.
Paul Broad (pictured) said he and Chris Bowen disagreed on ‘a range of things’
‘Especially the gasworks at Kurri Kurri (in NSW). (Former Coalition Secretary of Energy) Angus Taylor and I strongly believed that you needed gas to keep the lights on.
“And we had more petrol in NSW than we know what to do with. We need gas (for) when the sun isn’t shining, when the wind isn’t blowing… (but) Chris Bowen was against Kurri Kurri.
“Then he said, we’re going to run Kurri Kurri on 30 percent hydrogen. There’s no hydrogen … and won’t be in 10, 20 years at the earliest,” he said.
Mr Broad turned to salty language again when addressing allegations from Mr Bowen’s office that the former government and Mr Broad were misleading about the Snowy 2.0 delays.
“Those are just bulls***… when I had the last meeting with Angus (Taylor), which was in April (2022), when the contractor walked into Angus’ office and said we think there will be a delay and an increase in cost, Angus kicked him out of the office saying it had to be delivered on time and on budget.
‘That is the truth. I mean, why is (Mr. Bowen’s) office doing this political spin, what is it trying to do? I mean, honest dinkum, why don’t you just tell the truth.
‘It’s pretty easy. In life, I find that if you tell the truth, you remember it and don’t get yourself into too much trouble.”
Paul Broad was the CEO of Snowy Hydro (pictured) for nearly a decade.
Mr Broad said the transition to renewable energy is going to be a long one.
“We can’t make this transition until we’re absolutely convinced… that the alternative is going to work and that it’s going to be at a price that won’t kill the economy.
“Right now we don’t have either.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Chris Bowen for comment.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers responded to the claim at a press conference.
“We don’t share that view (that they are bulls***),” he said.
‘We have plans to get cleaner and cheaper energy into the system. Clean and cheaper energy will be central to our plans to grow the economy.
‘Those goals, those measures and policies that we have been announcing for some time now, we have processed them in a methodical and well thought-out way.
“We are convinced that we can get more clean and cheap energy into the system and our policy reflects that.”