OPINION
Back at the dawn of the automobile era, people were so concerned about these new-fangled infernal machines that drivers had to employ someone to walk in front of them waving a warning flag. But if the same people had had the mindset of the Climate Cult, they’d have been out shoving pedestrians into the paths of oncoming motor-cars and shouting at them that there was nothing to worry about.
Fires caused by lithium batteries are expected to increase over the coming years as use of the highly flammable product continues to rise, an energy storage expert has warned.
With even the small penetration of lithium batteries, mostly in small devices like phones, the number of fires in increasing exponentially.
So far this year, lithium batteries have caused at least 98 fires, according to data from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES).
Last year, the batteries caused 108 fires.
But if even small batteries can cause deadly, explosive fires – such as the e-scooter that put someone into critical care in Wellington a few months back – big batteries cause really big fires. The very kind of big batteries that the Climate Cult want to carpet the nation with.
An investigation is underway after a blaze at one of Queensland’s first large-scale battery storage sites on Tuesday night.
The fire at Bouldercombe, in central Queensland, was contained to a single battery pack but caused hazardous smoke to spread across the area.
Experts say as use of lithium batteries and large-scale storage sites increase, so too will fires caused by the product.
Aren’t you glad we’ve got experts to tell us the bleeding obvious?
University of Queensland School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering’s Ruth Knibbe said […] large-scale battery storage site fires like the Bouldercombe incident were rare and more were caused by products like electric vehicles and scooters.
Probably because, Dr Obvious, large-scale battery sites are rare, too. At the moment. But of the mere 16 sites operating in Australia at present, there have been major fires at at least two in just the last few months.
That’s not stopping the Climate Cult, though. In fact, they’re doubling down.
Giles Parkinson is the founder of clean energy news and analysis website, Renew Economy.
He said lithium batteries were known fire risks, and there have been problems and warnings around the product, especially those used in smaller household appliances and items.
“Some of them are sort of quite cheap and might not have the full protections,” Mr Parkinson said.
Yet both recent fires at big battery sites used batteries made by industry-leader Tesla. These weren’t exactly Chinese knock-offs – and yet, they still went up in near-unquenchable flames, spewing highly toxic gases.
Dr Knibbe said this created a lot of issues for firefighters.
“Even if they turn up to a residential property, they don’t know if you’ve got lithium ion batteries [which] can create an additional fuel to the fire,” she said.
Mr Platt said it’s crucial people call triple-0 and evacuate the area immediately if a lithium battery catches fire.
“The gasses that can be given off in the fire are very toxic,” he said.
ABC Australia
But, hey, there’s nothing to worry about.