What thinking Australians Are thinking…
Wind farms are useless on a calm day, but when it’s blowing a gale and you’d think they’d be in their element, they have to be shut down. Not only that, they can’t be started up again (presumably) without power from another source. Purists take the moral high ground, extreme environmentalism is their religion, and coal and gas are agents of Satan. Where has that got South Australia?
Elizabeth Moser, Newtown, Vic
As South Australia was plunged into darkness, we can now look forward to the false narrative from the Left who will tell us this storm was the result of climate change.
The truth is that renewable energy has resulted in SA having unplanned Earth-hour events while paying Australia’s highest electricity prices and achieving zero environmental benefit. How much more proof do people need to reject the policies and plans of the Greens-Left?
Peter Castieau, Warwick, WA
As people and organisations count up the cost of lost revenue and opportunity of the blackout, remember the Greens and the Labor Party for making South Australia energy dependent and for dragging the state back into the dark ages. Without the ability to provide inexpensive and stable power, those who lost wages, income, products and possibly lives, can thank the state’s reduction in the only proven viable and reliable power generation technologies — coal and gas. As it stands, SA can look forward to more outages in the future.
James Hein, Hackney, SA
Would South Australia have been blacked out if it had its own reliable coal-fired base-load power and did not have to import power from interstate? If the answer is yes, two things should happen: SA should re-establish its reliable domestic base-load power capacity using coal or gas, and the Labor government should resign.
Paul Tooker, Bald Knob, Qld
If South Australia’s green energy generated by subsidised foreign-owned wind farms can’t be relied on to simply keep the domestic lights on, how can it produce enough reliable industrial strength power to build submarines?
Yet, while Australia is reluctant to use its plentiful and cheap coal, gas and uranium resources, other countries are using them to become industrial and manufacturing power-houses.
Brian Whybrow, Wanniassa, ACT
The failure of renewable energy to power South Australia in the face of adverse weather conditions highlights the problem with green energy. The same fate will befall Victoria if the state government persists in the folly of going 50 per cent renewable by 2030. SA relies on the interconnector from Victoria to prop up its renewable energy grid. The state has closed its coal-fired power stations, and its gas generator is only operating at half capacity. Otherwise, SA has an abundance of gas generated capacity, but it’s cheaper to import coal-generated power from Victoria.
Hazelwood power station in Victoria is expected to close next year, and given that it provides 12 per cent of the state’s power, Victoria could suffer blackouts similar to the one experienced by SA. And not only Victoria would be affected — SA and Tasmania rely on back-up power from the Latrobe Valley.
It’s the responsibility of state governments to supply energy at all times, and in all conditions. Renewable energy targets should be reviewed and ways found to keep our coal-fired power stations working.
Alan Barron, Grovedale, Vic
The South Australian blackout is a manifestation of too many years of Labor in power in that state. The pursuit of anything-but-coal has placed its citizens at significant risk along with its commercial sector. A memo to those proposing to spend $80 billion on naval shipbuilding in Adelaide, the lights are on at the Henderson shipyard in WA.
Kim Keogh, East Fremantle, WA
What is more important? Reliable low-cost energy now and into the future, or an immeasurably small reduction in future temperatures from Australia’s emission reduction policies? Why do so many politicians and voters get this wrong?
Michael Cunningham, West End, Qld
The Greens may as well have sent a message to South Australians: to save the planet from global warming you’re going to have to learn to live part of your life in the dark.
John Clark, Burradoo, NSW
So we are going to spend billions building submarines in a state that can’t even guarantee that the welding machines will work?
Iain Rae, River Heads, Qld