Timothy McDonald reported this story on Friday, September 7, 2012 06:08:00

TONY EASTLEY: Gale force winds in South Australia earlier this week kept the emergency services busy and downed trees and power lines in many areas of the state.



It also had another effect.



Figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator say that while the winds were howling, more than half the state's power came from wind farms.



Timothy McDonald reports.



TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Roughly a quarter of South Australia's power came from wind farms last year.



Earlier this week when winds topped 90 kilometres an hour that figure was much higher.



Russell Marsh is the policy director for the Clean Energy Council.



TIMOTHY MCDONALD: What we've seen is that over the last couple of days the amount of energy generated from wind power in South Australia has gone from between 55 and 85 per cent since Monday as a result of the very strong winds we're having at the moment.



TIMOTHY MCDONALD: And for a few brief moments in the early hours of Wednesday morning wind was generating so much power that some of it was being exported to Victoria.



Russell Marsh says emissions from South Australia's power sector have fallen every year since 2005 and have dropped 27 per cent over the last five years.



He says there's no reason that other states couldn't emulate their success.



RUSSELL MARSH: Absolutely. I mean South Australia has a great, great wind resource. It's probably one of the best places in Australia to build wind. And we expect to see, you know, many more wind farms built, not just in South Australia but in other states along the south-east coast of Australia.



TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Do the same figures though suggest that, you know, we're certainly not done with coal just yet given that only a quarter actually does come from wind?



RUSSELL MARSH: I mean look, you know, we're really only starting down the path of developing both wind energy specifically and renewable energy generally in Australia. And, you know, I think we're going to see coal and other fossil fuel generation around for a number of years to come.



But, certainly we reckon that wind and other renewables can certainly play their part in generating more energy in the future.



TIMOTHY MCDONALD: I guess the other side of it is we're seeing these high numbers after we've had very high winds. One of the criticisms of wind power has long been that if there's not enough wind then you don't generate the same amount of energy. Does this reinforce that argument?



RUSSELL MARSH: Well no it doesn't because what the market operator is also showing is that across the year about 25 per cent of the state's power comes from wind.



And that has resulted in two things in South Australia. Firstly, you're seeing less generation from coal and gas as a result of the amount of wind. And also you're seeing greenhouse gas emissions in South Australia dropping.



So, you know, what we're seeing in South Australia is evidence that deploying wind, in this case wind, in Australia actually does lead to using less fossil fuels and reduces emission.



TONY EASTLEY: Russell Marsh ending Timothy McDonald's report.