Not far inland from Port Campbell in Victoria lie three depleted gas fields. These underground sandstone reservoirs now have a second life, as the state’s main gas storage, responsible for 30% of the state’s winter gas demand.
Last week, these underground reserves began running low. Victorians were firing up their gas heating to combat the intense cold snap gripping Australia’s southeast. Problems at Longford, the gas plants which receives most of the gas from offshore fields in Bass Strait, meant production dropped. And the weather – cold, clear and with minimal wind – meant energy from wind turbines dropped, while solar languished.
