The state government of South Australia has awarded Tesla the contract to build a 100MW battery system, set to be the largest lithium-ion storage project in the world.
(Credit: Tesla)
Due to be up and running by December 2017, the project will see a scaled-up version of Tesla’s Powerpack technology used. The facility will provide a total of 129MWh of energy, capable of delivering power to around 30,000 homes. According to Tesla, the system will be paired with energy provider Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm, located near Jamestown in South Australia.
Recent years have seen storms and heat waves leaving residents in the region without power on numerous occasions, prompting the government to act. After a tendering process that called for grid-scale solutions, Tesla was awarded the entire storage component of the project.
“Tesla Powerpack will charge using renewable energy from the Hornsdale Wind Farm and then deliver electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia’s electrical infrastructure,” read a statement on Tesla’s website.
“The Tesla Powerpack system will further transform the state’s movement towards renewable energy and see an advancement of a resilient and modern grid.”
As well as helping to prevent blackouts in the state, Tesla claims the system will reduce intermittencies and assist in managing the summertime peak load, adding much-needed resiliency to the grid. Alongside the commercial Powerpack system being delivered for the state government, Tesla says its Powerwall product for homes is also being adopted by residential customers across Australia.
“The same technology that can help stabilise the South Australian grid can also be used by homeowners to collect energy during the day so it is stored and made available day and night, providing uninterrupted power even if the grid goes down,” the company said.
No mention of Tesla building it in 100 days or its free then? http://www.wired.co.uk/article/tesla-elon-musk-australia-power-island
Perhaps it is time to consider the foolish claims that are mede to support sales pitches such as this. 129 MWh is not much storage. The 30000 homes mentioned would each take 10 – 15 kWh per day. At 10 kWh / day (a low end figure) this amounts to 20 minutes supply of power when nature turns off the supplies. The main use of batteries is to back up unreliable sources of power such as solar when a cloud passes over; as a central power balance they are far from ready and pumped water or compressed air are far more effective and economic.
However, the rapid development of batteries will prove very useful in the future. Elon Musk does not need much assistance in his self-promotion!
Yes – but batteries are still a rather poor method of storage for this purpose as they have many problems, are ‘toxic’ and they use up scarce resources. I believe they should revisit flywheels but this time make them high momentum/lower RPM (ie about 4000RPM max) rather than the lower momentum but high RPM (is 15000) that most storage systems seem to be using – I have optimised the flywheel design and proportions for this purpose if anyone’s interested?