South Australia has announced Elon Musk's Tesla as the principal builder of the world's largest lithium ion battery to expand the state's renewable energy supply.
The project is intended to sustain 100 megawatts of power and store 129 megawatt hours, which could power about 30,000 homes according to Tesla. That was more than three times as powerful as the world's next-largest such battery, Mr Musk said on Friday.
The project, slated for completion by December, will harness the existing Hornsdale Wind Farm to charge the mega-battery while the wind is blowing and discharge power when it is most needed.
Tesla Powerpack to Enable Large Scale Sustainable Energy to South Australia
This comes on the back of a 2016 blackout of the state of 1.6 million people, caused by a number of factors. Part due to wild weather doing this ↓↓↓↓↓
2016 South Australian blackout
In response the Australian Federal Government, which unfortuntately time & again has demonstrated hostility towards renewable energy, blamed South Australia's high concentration of renewables for the blackout, not the power lines that had blown over.
South Australia’s Premier, was having none of it though.
South Australia's Premier Just Ripped The Federal Government A New One On Renewable Energy
"It's a disgrace, the way in which your government has treated our state." South Australia's premier, Jay Weatherill, didn't mince his words when he was standing face to face with the federal government's minister for energy Josh Frydenberg on live TV during a press conference about the state's energy policy.
The Federal party in reaction to the blackout going so far as to pull this stunt
Scott Morrison brings a chunk of coal into parliament – video
Mike Cannon Brookes, an Australian who has found success in the US through a start up company called Atlassian weighed in with an offer over Twitter to which Elon Musk responded that if Tesla were awarded the contract, it would be built in 100 days or it was free.
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes asks Elon Musk for 'mates rates' in Tesla's Aussie energy plan
7-7-17 a day Australia’s Energy Security took a Step in the right direction after many years of being subjected to political games.