Recently, Elon Musk challenged the Australian and federal government by claiming that he can solve the state’s energy problems in 100 days and that he can mount a 100 MW energy storage system for free.
Lyndon Rive, Tesla’s vice president of energy products, said that the company can install 100-300 MWh energy with battery storage that would eliminate any shortages and blackouts in the state. Musk commented that this can be achieved in 100 days with the Gigafactory in Nevada.
Rive, the co-founder of SolarCity, said that Tesla’s battery technology can help neutralize the energy shortages cause due to the closure of the Hazelwood power plant:
“We don’t have 300MWh sitting there ready to go but I’ll make sure there are.”
This claim made by Musk and Rive are crucial for any future policy that the state can take as there had been many blackouts since September, and it has been a hot issue in politics. Meanwhile, the federal government blames the usage of renewable technologies for the failures. Yet, grid scale battery storage can diminish these spikes and create a reliable network.
Recently, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency approved funding the EnergyAustralia with $450,000 to pursue a hydro energy storage project in the Spencer Gulf. The project has a 100 MW capacity and six to eight hours of storage.
[via theguardian]
