Renewables Restore Power to Thousands of Households During Australian Heatwave

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As temperatures soared above 115 degrees Fahrenheit last week in Australia, fossil fuel-based power infrastructure failed in parts of the country, unable to operate in the heat and keep up with demand from air conditioners.

As temperatures soared above 115 degrees Fahrenheit last week in Australia, fossil fuel-based power infrastructure failed in parts of the country, unable to operate in the heat and keep up with demand from air conditioners. Utilities instead relied onrenewable energy to bring power back to hundreds of thousands of households.

As temperatures soared above 115 degrees Fahrenheit last week in Australia, fossil fuel-based power infrastructure failed in parts of the country, unable to operate in the heat and keep up with demand from air conditioners. Utilities instead relied onrenewable energy to bring power back to hundreds of thousands of households.

“We lost 1,800 MW [megawatts] of power capacity generation in Victoria,” state energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio told reporters on Friday, according to The Guardian. “That is an extraordinary figure to lose. Essentially most of that was a result of failed infrastructure from coal and gas – in particular coal… Wind power came through today, it produced sufficient power generation. Our largest batteries were available last night when we needed them the most.”

Read more at Yale Environment 360

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