Energy operator confirms extreme weather led to SA blackout
Energy operator confirms extreme weather led to SA blackout
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) preliminary report on South Australia is a slap in the face to Nick Xenophon and the Turnbull government’s attempts to blame renewable energy for the South Australian outage, Greens climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt said today.
AEMO’s preliminary operating incident report released today states that event was triggered by extreme weather and caused by multiply faults to the transmission system which led to the shutdown of some wind generation and the interconnector.
“This is slap in the face to Malcolm Turnbull, who tried to use the blackout as part of his government’s war on renewable energy,” Mr Bandt said today.
“It is clear, as the report states, that the extreme weather caused multiple faults to the transmission system which led to a shutdown of generation and the interconnector.”
“Climate change will fuel more extreme storms like the one we saw in South Australia. Without accelerating the shift to more clean energy, climate change will get worse.”
“The Energy Ministers’ meeting on Friday must reject Malcolm Turnbull’s war on renewables and agree to an orderly retirement of fossil fuel generation, together with a strong national generation and transmission system.”
South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson Young said, “this report is a blow to Nick Xenophon’s opportunistic attempt to link the outage with renewables.”
Contact: Damien Lawson 0487 900 005
Link to AEMO Report: https://www.aemo.com.au/Media-Centre/Media-Statement-South-Australia-Interim-Report