26 May 2021
Yesterday, a fire at the Queensland Callide C coal plant caused the facility to suddenly snap offline. That triggered a cascade of flow-on events, including the disconnection of multiple transmission lines, and other generators, along with a huge ‘frequency excursion‘, in which the normal operating state of the grid begins to stray outside safe parameters.
Nearly half a million customers were disconnected, including Brisbane airport, sewage pumps in the Gold Coast, Gold Coast University Hospital (which had to rely on backup generators) and traffic lights. “About 360 traffic intersections across the Brisbane metro region lost power just after 2:00pm, causing “chaos” for drivers ahead of school pick-up time”, wrote the ABC. People were briefly trapped inside a shopping centre.
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The Australian Industry Group (AIG) has called for a moratorium on the electric vehicle (EV) taxes that are set to be imposed in Victoria on July 1, asserting that the extra taxes will be detrimental to the future of EVs in Australia.
AIG CEO is not happy about the Victorian EV taxes
AIG chief executive
Innes Willox has slammed the proposal, suggesting the new taxes were like “putting the cart before the horse and should not be implemented until clean vehicles are better established and the taxes are better designed.”
âUniquely unsuitedâ: Government accused of stacking climate body with fossil interests
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Climate groups have criticised the appointment of former Origin Energy chief executive Grant King to lead the Climate Change Authority, the independent body that advises the government on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In making the appointment, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor described Mr King as a âthought leaderâ with 40 years of experience in energy, finance, infrastructure and sustainability who had already contributed to the governmentâs emissions reductions policy.