'Never let the facts get in the way of a lobbying position" could well apply to both sides of the "debate" over the role of renewable energy in South Australia that has broken out over the past week. And, while it may seem remote for many, how the issues there are resolved will be felt keenly in Victoria and NSW.
Unusual weather in South Australia, at a time when it could not turn to Victoria for additional supplies earlier this month, forced its government to take the extraordinary step of intervening in the power market. It sought a mothballed power station to be put back into service to ensure blackouts could be avoided. 
It termed it a "failure in the energy market" although more realistically, it was a failure of risk management by some large power users which had turned to the spot market for their power needs and not "hedged" their position. When the spot price surged, they turned to the government to get them out of their pickle.
The state is unusual in that more than 40 per cent of its power comes from renewable energy. It has a good wind "resource" which has been helped along by the subsidy to help the roll out of wind and solar. Once more than a fifth of electricity is sourced from renewables, a host of ancillary issues can arise to compromise energy security as existing generators quit the market because they are no longer profitable.
During windy weather there earlier this month, more than 83 per cent of its electricity came from renewables. Supporters of renewables took this as a sign that the transition from a carbon to a renewables world could be largely painless. If only.
The flipside is that when the wind doesn't blow, the state must turn to Victoria for some of its electricity. But in the past week, when that supply source has been constrained, it had to restart shuttered capacity.
As the number of wind turbines installed has risen, this has forced the shutdown of coal and gas-fired power stations. If the electricity companies cannot make a profit, the only alternative is to close. The converse is that if and when problems occur, shortages may emerge. But once coal or gas generators have been dismantled, supply problems can be all but impossible to avoid.
Clearly, boosting the role of renewables has achieved what it was intended to achieve. But missing from the policy debate is putting in place measures to ensure that when shortages inevitably occur, idled power stations can be restarted.
It is not uncommon in Europe to pay to keep some generators on standby to ensure shortages are avoided at times of severe disruption. It is sometimes labelled a standby power payment, a reserve payment or a capacity payment. Even though some green groups don't like it, this is the most cost-efficient way to ensure limited economic disruption if the wind doesn't blow or sun doesn't shine.
In a sense the role of renewables in South Australia has run well ahead of the ability of technology to provide a cost-effective solution. There has been a lot of "noise" about battery storage systems being the holy grail since they will be able to store electricity generated from renewable sources at times of low demand - ensuring it is not wasted since it is then available for use as demand warrants. It may emerge as a solution in parts of the power network but in many cases the economics are unclear.
The state's woes have been exacerbated by the delays in allowing it to source more electricity from interstate, which is likely to change in the future.
When it turned to Engie, formerly known as GDFSuez, to restart the Pelican Point power station, the government was careful to avoid any discussion of payments made to get the owner to restart. But without firm guarantees from power retailers to take output and perhaps also gas suppliers such as Santos to give some ground on gas prices, it may not have responded so quickly.
While some environmental groups paint the transition to renewables as a simple one, the experience of South Australia shows it is no such thing. Blind optimism is no substitute for a clear debate about how to cope when the wind doesn't blow or sun doesn't shine.