{"id":45270,"date":"2017-09-29T09:53:14","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T09:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=45270"},"modified":"2017-09-29T09:53:14","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T09:53:14","slug":"tesla-big-battery-races-to-keep-south-australia-lights-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/tesla-big-battery-races-to-keep-south-australia-lights-on.html","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Tesla big battery races to keep South Australia lights on<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Tesla big battery races to keep South Australia lights on: One year after the state of South Australia suffered a major blackout, construction has started on building the world\u2019s biggest battery to help keep the lights on in Australia\u2019s most wind-dependent state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tesla (TSLA.O) won a bid in July to build a 129 megawatt hour (MWh) battery and the state is counting on it to be ready by the start of the southern summer in December when electricity demand begins to peak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, currently visiting South Australia for a space conference, vowed to install it within 100 days of signing a grid connection agreement or give it to the state for free.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConstruction at the site is already well underway,\u201d South Australia Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis told Reuters. \u201cThe batteries are on track to be operational by December 1.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s state-wide blackout was blamed by opponents of renewable energy on the state\u2019s rush to embrace wind and solar, and fueled a backlash that has split Australia\u2019s conservative federal government and led to renewed calls to support coal-fired power.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Australia hopes the Tesla battery will forestall further blackouts, but Australia\u2019s Treasurer Scott Morrison says it is just a \u201cHollywood solution\u201d that is not solving the bigger problem of how to supply power when the wind isn\u2019t blowing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysts have estimated the battery, which will be tied to a wind farm run by France\u2019s Neoen, should cost around $750 to $950 per kilowatt, or up to $95 million. Musk said in July the cost to Tesla would be \u201c$50 million or more\u201d if it failed to deliver the project on time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned the country faces a very tight power market this summer, following the closure of one Australia\u2019s biggest coal-fired power stations in the neighboring state of Victoria.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe battery has a very useful role to play in the South Australian electricity system at the moment,\u201d said Sydney-based energy analyst David Leitch at ITK Services Australia, adding it was valuable insurance against the much heavier costs of another blackout.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state\u2019s biggest power user, global miner BHP\u2019s Olympic Dam copper mine, alone lost $105 million last year when it was shut for two weeks by the blackout, wiping out the mine\u2019s annual profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

The battery has been designed to help cover temporary dips in wind power, say for 15 minutes, or help control frequency on the grid at times when gas-fired plants are unable to help balance generation and power demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re trying to do is buy a little bit of time for other systems to respond to fluctuations,\u201d said Bikal Pokharel, an analyst with energy consultants Wood Mackenzie in Singapore.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transmission company ElectraNet said it was still working to develop the grid connection agreement for the Tesla\/Neoen project. Neoen declined to comment on the timeframe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-australia-power-tesla\/teslas-big-battery-races-to-keep-south-australias-lights-on-idUSKCN1C40DD<\/span><\/p>\n

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