- Chris Bowen criticized for coal comment
- He defended renewables in the face of power outages
Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has been criticized for blaming coal power stations for power outages while championing renewable energy.
The minister, nicknamed “Blackout Bowen” because of the blackouts, pointed to aging fossil fuel stations as the cause of the state’s blackout problems.
“This is what I’ve been saying for some time: that the biggest threat to the reliability of our energy systems is coal-fired power plants,” he said. News from heaven on Thursday.
“The least reliable part of our energy grid right now is coal-fired power.
‘That’s just a statement of fact. There has not been a day in the last 18 months when we have not had a breakdown at a coal-fired power station.
‘Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy available to Australians. It would be a disaster for emissions, reliability and prices to stop that investment in renewables and wait for nuclear power to arrive in the late 2030s or 2040s.”
Three blackouts were expected in New South Wales on Wednesday in preparation for summer, Bowen said, but on top of that there were two power stations that simply broke down.
‘That means we have to get more investments (in renewable energy) sooner. That’s what we’re doing,’ he said.
Chris Bowen pointed to aging fossil fuel stations as the cause of the state’s blackout problems.
But critics have questioned whether green energy projects will be able to replace coal quickly enough to meet demand as it is phased out.
“The irony of yesterday’s energy deficit in New South Wales is that renewables were unable to fill the gap when several coal and gas-fired plants were out of commission due to scheduled maintenance,” one wrote on the social media platform .
“This all has to do with ministerial incompetence and nothing to do with coal.”
“I am confident that if more of the general public truly understood the science and engineering involved in the generation and transmission of electricity, there is no way they would be as tolerant or ambivalent about the economy-destroying policies and rantings of “Chris Bowen.” said another.
A third pointed to data from the Australian Energy Market Operator that showed on Thursday morning that coal provided almost 60 per cent of New South Wales’ electricity, while solar generated 27 per cent and wind 1 percent.
‘Oh right, Chris Bowen, who needs coal?’ they wrote.
Parts of Sydney experienced a blackout on Tuesday afternoon as temperatures soared into the low to mid-30s, while southern regions of New South Wales also suffered outages early Wednesday morning, leaving 6,000 homes without power.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday urged residents not to use their dishwashers or washing machines during the afternoon rush.
There were further outages on Thursday morning, with parts of Sydney’s CBD suffering a major blackout causing disruption to thousands of workers due to flooding at the substation.
More than 1,000 AusGrid customers were left without power in Barangaroo, Wynyard and Martin Place, which include apartment blocks and large office buildings.
The outage also destroyed traffic lights in Barangaroo and Wynyard, causing major traffic delays for commuters entering the city.
Energy market analyst Saul Kavonic has claimed that shutting down coal-fired power plants as they reach their expiration dates has not been met with adequate replacements.
“The government and the regulator have been asleep at the wheel and have only addressed this once it reached crisis mode,” he said.