As soon as ‘Joe Public’ worked out that the idea of running on sunshine and breezes was so much childish nonsense, renewables rent-seekers started peddling an even greater myth: that mega-batteries would store ‘free and abundant’ wind and solar power, whenever the sun was up and the wind was blowing (just right).

Then, the myth continues, at absolutely zero cost to power consumers, giant grid-scale batteries would lovingly release groovy ‘green’ power as and when businesses and households needed it.

The zealot’s argument runs that – if only fossil fuel junkies and evil climate deniers would get out of the way – a few million mega-batteries would allow power consumers, hungry for ‘green’ virtue, to finally plug in and turn on to the ‘fuels of the future’.

So much for the hype.

South Australia, Australia’s wind power capital, has signed up to squander $150 million on one of Elon Musk’s…