KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter has called for the sacking of the CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Daniel Westerman, after he made a comment that the national power market operator had set itself the goal ‘to be able to handle 100 per cent renewable energy on the grid by 2025.’

Mr Katter said the comment was ludicrous because 100 per cent renewables would be a huge cost to the consuming public.

“Nearly a third of the population of Australia are on welfare payments and a lot would be single mothers, so this CEO can go out and explain to them why they should pay four times more for their electricity,” he said.

“It’s alright for him on his huge salary to say we are going 100 per cent renewable, but the average Australians will pay for it. The process to create pure silicon, when making solar panels, is very expensive and uses a lot of energy and CO2. You must smelt that metal, crush it and put it under electromagnets. It is also very difficult to recycle solar panels.”

 Mr Katter said he’ll happily debate the AEMO CEO on national TV over the cost of energy sources.

“This CEO need not tell me how much energy costs, because I put the first stand alone solar system together in Australia when I was Queensland Mines and Energy Minister. The true cost of solar is $80 a megawatt hour, whereas coal fired is $20 a megawatt hour.

“This bastard will take the jobs out from under hardworking Australian coal miners and hardworking Australian power station workers, and it sure would be nice if the ETU stood up and made some noise. Around 30,000 jobs will transfer from Australia to China because that’s where all our solar panels come from. This man is mad and irresponsible.

“Under the Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen Government, Queensland had the cheapest electricity in the world, coal-fired power, and it brought to our shores the aluminium industry and we became the biggest aluminium producer in the world.

“Our steel, aluminium and copper refining jobs will go offshore if this CEO gets his way.”