(REPOST:Energy Storage News)
Amidst experiencing Model 3’s “production hell”, launching a semi truck, a new Roadster and a portable battery pack, Tesla’s work on a 129MWh energy storage system in South Australia appears on track to be completed in time.
South Australia’s government turned to the idea of a giant lithium-ion battery storage system backed with diesel to balance the grid and mitigate serious energy security concerns following major blackouts in September 2016. The idea was put forward in the South Australian government’s Energy Plan in March this year.
Following a Twitter exchange with a local tech entrepreneur, Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously ended up promising to deliver a 100MW / 129MWh project within 100 days of contracts being signed or deliver it for free. The clock started ticking on 29 September when a grid interconnection agreement was signed with transmission network provider ElectraNet and approved by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Tesla switched from its usual battery cell supplier Panasonic to Samsung SDI, in order to expedite deliveries and construction.
“Congratulations to the Tesla crew and South Australian authorities who worked so hard to get this manufactured and installed in record time!” Musk tweeted this morning.