Melbourne, 5th October: A preliminary report on the South Australian power black-out released today by the Australian Energy Market Operator is no justification for the Coalition’s attack on renewable energy, says 350.org Australia.

“The authors of the AEMO report clearly state that they’ve not analysed the detailed causes of the South Australian black-out. It’s time for the perpetrators of the renewables misinformation campaign to back off, said Josh Creaser from 350.org Australia.

“When extreme weather pulls down power lines, the type of energy running your grid is irrelevant.  However, even energy giants like AGL agree that a more distributed and renewables-based energy system would provide greater stability that could have avoided the type of event experienced in South Australia.[1]

“When Energy Minister Frydenberg meets with the States this Friday, the focus must be on charting a pathway to a clean energy future not slashing support for the renewable energy. We need to avoid dangerous climate change and a future of extreme weather events like those which have crippled South Australia this past week.

“Clean, safe sources of power like wind and solar are not the villains of this story. If our Government is serious about delivering energy security and tackling dangerous climate change, they will drop their attack on renewables and deliver a serious plan to cut our emissions by phasing out fossil fuels,” concluded Creaser.

Media Enquiries:  

Charlie Wood 0427 485 233

Josh Creaser 0410 745 005
[1] AGL Energy CEO Andy Vesey says renewables are much more ‘secure’, Australian Financial Review, 4th October 2016; AGL says local renewables would offer more security than current grid, Renew Economy, 4th October 2016.