Imagine a huge reserve dedicated to housing the world’s largest battery. Today, South Australia is home to Tesla’s newest “mega battery,” and it’s getting a lot of attention. The battery is meant to help with South Australia‘s series of energy shortages and power outages.
The Hornsdale Power Reserve is the complex where the battery lives. Also, it was a constructed in partnership with the South Australian government and Neoen, a French renewable energy company.
Australia’s Energy Shortage:
In 2016, the majority of South Australia did not have power after a major storm. Later that year, a heat wave led to an over-demand of power. This was responsible for a blackout that caused major disruption to homeowners and businesses alike. A decrease in the dependence on coal-fired power plants is another contributor to Australia’s energy shortage.
In response to these incidents, the local government is coming up with ways to combat this. The chronic issue of blackouts has ignited political firestorms. It is pointing to Australia’s failure to depend on renewable energies.
Moreover, Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull recommends fossil fuels as a dominant source of energy production. Thus, it’s important Tesla’s battery technology tries to help solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources in Australia.
How does it work, exactly?
A wind farm generates the power during high demand. The battery farms are able to retain large amounts of energy generated by renewable sources. They dispense it off in times of urgency, eliminating possible blackouts.
The mega battery:
The battery has a 100-megawatt capacity and an additional 129 megawatt-hour of energy storage (compared to being able to power 50,000 homes). Reports state that these numbers don’t translate to the physical capability to the battery itself.
Components of battery:
The battery complex has two systems:
- The first is a component with 70 MW of output capacity that is according to the contract with the South Australian government. This is to provide grid stability and system security.
- The second component is a 30 MW of output capacity. While this component has a smaller MW capacity, it has much more storage. This part of the battery will actively engage in the battery market
Elon Musk’s promise of delivery:
Musk promised to solve South Australian’s power problem by committing to build a 100-mega watt battery storage farm — and that was the tip of the iceberg. Additionally, Musk promised that if he couldn’t build the system in 100 days, it would be free.
How this battery fares on the world battery market:
This battery is apparently small within the National Energy Market. Nonetheless, the battery has put South Australia on global radar in terms of its energy initiatives. There are predictions that it will become the leader in renewable energy with battery storage.
Tesla is praised for its innovation since renewable energy sources are some of the most coveted forms of sustainability in the first world. The only problem is that promises might outweigh deliverables as the battery is going to be held to higher standards given Tesla’s tumultuous history.
