Aidan,

You are completely wrong. I pay for power in SA, and I know what I'm talking about.

The alleged abatement of CO2 by wind turbines is based on false assumption, that if the turbines generate power, coal fired generators burn less coal. That is not true. The amount of coal burned does not fluctuate with short term fluctuations of consumption.(day or night, wind or no wind, peak or off peak). Therefore wind power does not replace coal power, but is in addition of it. That means that wind turbines don't abate any CO2 at all.
Hermit

hermit, the only circumstances under which what you say is true are if the wind power is replacing something other than coal (such as natural gas) in which case there is still CO2 abated; just not from coal.

When output from a coal fired power station decreases, so does the amount of coal going into it, because less energy is going out through the turbines, so less needs to be put in to compensate. Peter's main point AIUI is that the power station efficiency also falls (so the reduction in coal burned is less than what you would expect if coal input were directly proportional to electricity output). But it is still substantial, and we're more likely to be able to switch it off completely.

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ttbn, the extra wind power reduced wholesale prices, but that doesn't mean the retailers all passed the saving on to consumers. And AIUI retailers now charge even more interstate.

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Tally, you're not the first to come up with that idea. However running a water line to the hot spots is much more difficult than it sounds. But the related technology of underground coal gasification has been tried in Queensland quite recently.

If the government were really serious about regaining Australia’s natural energy cost advantage, then it should proceed by scrapping the RET and all subsidisation of renewable energy generation, especially inefficient, unreliable wind turbine and solar power.

Aidan,"When output from a coal fired power station decreases, so does the amount of coal going into it," This is not true. That is the false assumption based on theoretical assumption that coal input matches the power output. That is not how it works in reality.Cooling down and subsequent heating up takes couple of days. It cannot mach short term variation. The coal input is steady. The variations are handled at the turbines end, not at the furnaces.

It is feasible to reduce coal consumption when demand is low, all that is necessary is to slow the feed rate of the coal.
The boilers will remain at steam producing temperature with reduced fires and when demand increases steaming can be increased well before there is any starving at the turbines.

I have never been a boiler attendant at a power station but I've had a lot of experience with oil fired and moving grate boilers in factories and the management keep a keen eye on fuel consumption and an ear on the safety valves and excessive blowing off will be noted.