Tony Abbott brands wind turbines ‘dark satanic mills of the modern era’

The former Prime Minister of Australia noted he was comforted to hear plans to keep existing coal power stations in operation

The former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott has branded wind turbines “dark satanic mills of the modern era”.

Speaking to Sydney radio 2GB host Alan Jones about whether his successor independent MP Zali Steggal had been installing wind turbines in his former electorate, Abbott suggested there had been “a lot of wind but not too much action”.

Mr Abbott noted he was was comforted by Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s pledge to keep Australia’s coal-fired power stations in operation.

He said: “The great thing about Angus Taylor, Alan, is Angus wants to try and keep our existing coal-fired power stations like Liddell open, because we’ve got more and more wind and solar flooding into the system and that is great when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, but it doesn’t always blow and it doesn’t always shine but we still have to be able to flick the switch and have the lights come on.”

He suggested keeping existing coal-fired power in the system is vital in avoiding a “disaster”.

The politician has previously described the renewable energy infrastructure as “ugly”, “noisy” and “awful”.

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