The release of the Australian Energy Market Operator’s fourth and final report into South Australia’s state-wide blackout last September has sparked a social media spat between the state’s energy minister, Tom Koutsantonis, and opposition energy spokesperson The Australian’s Adelaide bureau chief, Michael Owen.
The heated exchanged started when Owen – who this morning published an article on the report titled “Wind farms key” to SA blackout – took a swipe at the South Australian government for its response to the report.
Seemingly undaunted by AEMO’s actual findings – which have since been reiterated in a news briefing by AEMO chair Tony Marxsen, who said the system black had “very little” to do with the type of generation, and that it “was not about renewables” – Owen tweeted:
So @AEMO_Media report finds wind farm settings “led to the Black System” in SA YET @JayWeatherill@TKoutsantonisMP insist wind not a factor!
— Michael Owen (@mjowen) March 27, 2017
To which Koutsantonis replied:
Wrong “Wind turbines successfully rode through grid disturbances. It was the actions of a control setting..that led to system black” @mjowen
— Tom Koutsantonis (@TKoutsantonisMP) March 27, 2017
To which Owen fired back:
@TKoutsantonisMP Wrong it was “wind farms” settings that led to blackout. You can say it! Oh that’s right, you said wind farms NOT involved
— Michael Owen (@mjowen) March 27, 2017
And then, because he is a staunch defender of unbiased reporting:
Media should check their control settings ahead of @JayWeatherill @TKoutsantonisMP post-AEMO spin conference. Predict will be breathtaking
— Michael Owen (@mjowen) March 27, 2017
Indeed, as Marxsen said, this is all about control settings – and not generation type. In 2003/04 in other major outages, it was about the settings on coal plants. On March 3, it was about settings on the gas plants. In September, it was about the settings, since fixed, on wind farms.
Owen was not to be distracted however, and decided – like the ABC – that it was all the fault of wind energy.
He has also been Tweeting busily in defence of his article, and particularly it’s misleading “quote-unquote” headline:
‘Wind farms key’ to SA blackouts https://t.co/VMk2AK02D5
— Michael Owen (@mjowen) March 27, 2017
LOL.
