Answer is blowing in the wind

28Mar

Steven Marshall MP
State Liberal Leader

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) confirmation that the loss of power from wind farms was instrumental in South Australia’s state-wide blackout on the 28th of September last year has exposed Jay Weatherill’s claims it was wholly the result of the storm.

“AEMO’s report makes clear that had nine windfarms not tripped unnecessarily there would not have been a state-wide blackout,” said State Liberal Leader Steven Marshall.

“Jay Weatherill’s claim that windfarms were in no way responsible for the state-wide black-out has been totally discredited.

“Jay Weatherill’s assertion that the state-wide blackout was the result of the system operating effectively was a desperate attempt to divert attention from his failed energy policies.

“AEMO’s final report into the state-wide blackout leaves no doubt that Jay Weatherill’s foolish decision to leave South Australia at the mercy of the wind plunged every South Australian into darkness.

“The critical fact is, had the Northern Power Station been operating rather than wind farms at the time of the storm the entire state would not have been plunged into darkness.

“Had the Northern Power Station been producing the 460 megawatts of power that windfarms were on the day of the state-wide blackout the interconnector to Victoria would not have tripped.”

South Australia’s over reliance on wind power not only plunged the entire state into darkness but it also prolonged the time it took for the system to be restarted.

The AEMO report notes: The key differentiator between the 28th of September 2018 and other three events is that there was significantly lower inertia in SA in the most recent event, due to a lower number of on-line synchronous generators.

“In layman’s terms the reason why it took longer to re-connect South Australia to the Victorian interconnector than after previous disconnections was because the Weatherill Government forced the coal-fired Northern Power Station to shut down.”