Sidestep:
JessieB:
A far cheaper alternative to Lake Onslow is to keep the aluminium smelter, but have an electricity supply agreement where pot lines are shut down during dry years.
Erm - who would be responsible for (as in own/run) this massive loss-making excercise?
It would make the A$4.5 Billion Victoria's spent subsidising Alcoa's Portland aluminum smelter look like pocket change.
FYIW: of the two smelters in the article, Port Henry shut in 2014, and Portland is likely to shut in 2021- both were powered by coal power stations...