Another Western Country Starts To Throw In The Towel On Renewable Energy -- Australia

I bet it's difficult for Bloomberg to have to write these stories; the stories don't fit the script. The link is here:

An Australian government agency expects to announce a second agreement within three months to fund a renewable energy project at a remote mining operation before the government moves to wind it up.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which this week provided money to a Rio Tinto Group plant, had planned to allocate as much as A$300 million ($277 million) to projects that provide solar and wind power to mines and surrounding communities, Chief Executive Officer Ivor Frischknecht said today by phone. It’s unclear how much of that money will be awarded after the government earlier this month said it plans to scrap the agency to save A$1.3 billion.

“It may end up substantially less than that,” he said.

The agency, which said yesterday that it provided A$11.3 million to fund a solar project at Rio’s Weipa bauxite mine in Queensland state, is seeking to increase the use of renewable energy in diesel-powered regions of Australia. First Solar Inc. and Ingenero Pty agreed to provide solar power to the mine.

And so it goes. 

Actually, it sounds a bit Kerry-esque: Australia funds a renewable energy project before the government "wraps it up."

All that time, money, and trouble, and the government might save $1.3 billion .. but according to the article, probably a whole lot less. It hardly seems worth it, does it?