Can’t Take the Heat Wave? Then Build, Baby, Build
Consumers are feeling the pain of Australia’s failure to invest in energy transition.
Australia’s heat waves are compounded by weak investment in energy transition.
Photographer: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images
Much of the world might be hunkering down for the start of winter, but in the Southern Hemisphere a blistering summer is building. In my hometown of Sydney last week, the mercury rose to nearly 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) and only dropped to about 24C overnight.
That’s put strain on the local grid serving the six million-odd people here and in the satellite cities of Newcastle and Wollongong. Households and businesses cranked up air conditioners to cope with the searing heat, adding extra demand when solar generation started declining in the late afternoon.