Elon Musk
Elon Musk. Source: Twitter

Home » SA’s Elon Musk Clinches World-Breaking Battery Deal in Australia & Stays True to His Word – 100 Days or Free!

SA’s Elon Musk Clinches World-Breaking Battery Deal in Australia & Stays True to His Word – 100 Days or Free!

Elon Musk’s Tesla will be installing the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage project in South Australia, it was announced Friday. The exciting contract comes after the former Pretoria Boys’ High student – and mega-entrepreneur (PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX etc!) – made headlines in March when he promised South Australia that his company could complete the project […]

By SAPeople
07-07-17 10:21
in Fab South African Stuff
Elon Musk
Elon Musk. Source: Twitter

Elon Musk’s Tesla will be installing the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage project in South Australia, it was announced Friday.

The exciting contract comes after the former Pretoria Boys’ High student – and mega-entrepreneur (PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX etc!) – made headlines in March when he promised South Australia that his company could complete the project within 100 days… or it would be FREE.

South Australia (SA) began looking for solutions after a major storm last September damaged critical infrastructure, causing a state-wide blackout and leaving 1.7 million residents without electricity.

Further blackouts occurred in the heat of the Australian summer in early 2017, leading the SA Government – known as a leader in renewable energy – to look for a sustainable solution to ensure energy security for all residents, now and into the future.

The government called for expressions of interest to deploy grid-scale energy storage options with at least 100 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

That’s when South African expat Elon Musk – who has lived in Canada and the USA since he left school – stepped in and made headlines, tweeting: “Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?”

His quoted price at the time was approximately $25 million for the battery packs.

This week, through a competitive bidding process, Tesla was selected to provide a 100 MW/129 MWh Powerpack system to be paired with global renewable energy provider Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, South Australia.

Tesla was awarded the entire energy storage system component of the project, it said in a media statement today.

Tesla Powerpack will charge using renewable energy from the Hornsdale Wind Farm and then deliver electricity during peak hours.

Tesla said: “Upon completion by December 2017, this system will be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world and will provide enough power for more than 30,000 homes, approximately equal to the amount of homes that lost power during the blackout period.”

In addition, Tesla’s Powerwall is now being installed for residential customers across Australia and ramping up quickly.

The same technology that can help stabilize the South Australian grid can also be used by homeowners to collect energy during the day so it is stored and made available day and night, providing uninterrupted power even if the grid goes down.

Tesla said it is “proud to be part of South Australia’s renewable energy future, and we expect this project will provide a model for future deployments around the world that will help significantly accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy.”

Perhaps one of those future deployments could be in the other SA – South Africa!

Elon says that his company will stay true to its word, and the 100 days starts now!

Source: Tesla.com

Watch Elon Musk discuss the deal… and his 100-day promise