Will This Colossal Battery Save Australian Electricity Woes?

December 2, 2017
by Graham Pierrepoint -

Tesla boss Elon Musk has hardly been out of the news lately, with recent revelations regarding his proposition to reach and colonize Mars alongside the launching of an electric truck only having helped to keep his name in the headlines. Musk is famously the boss of both Tesla and SpaceX, with his overall aim to help humanity advance in terms of evolving tech and new innovations – as well as through the exploration of the universe around us. This week, Musk and Tesla have gone in a rather different direction in an effort to help bring reliable electricity down under to an area in dire need of a solid grid.

South Australia has suffered from power outages recently thanks to problems relating to electricity grids – with a complete blackout having landed citizens in the dark last year. Musk has delivered a colossal battery to help prevent future blackouts from occurring, installing a Tesla cell in Jamestown, South Australia, to the power of 100 megawatts – and it’s only just been powered up. It’s thought to be three times as powerful as the next battery down in terms of size, making it something of a world-beater. What’s even more interesting is that the battery’s creation and implementation has only been in the making since the end of September, and as a result of an impromptu bet having been made on Twitter, with Musk fully involved.

Tesla activates world's biggest battery (Report by Al Jazeera)

Musk was approached on the social network regarding problems that South Australia had been experiencing and advised that he was serious enough to tackle their issues that he would oversee the production and implementation of a battery within 100 days – or the state wouldn’t have to pay a penny for it. It transpires that Tesla were able to build the gigantic power provider in just 60 days, which is now connected to a wind farm operated by power firm Neoen. It’s thought that the technology used to power the battery is similar to that which is used to help power the firm’s famous electric cars.

The power source will largely be used to help ensure that existing electricity fixtures are operating at optimal capacity. The battery is set to help thousands of homes, and is thought to be able to power up to 30,000 of them for a whole hour when charged completely. Will this super-efficient battery hold the key to power stability for the decades to come?


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