The output and storage of South Australia’s big Tesla battery will increase by 50 per cent within weeks if the project’s final tests run smoothly.
The South Australian conservative Liberal-National state government said the expansion at Jamestown, in the state’s mid north, will make an extra 50 megawatts of power available to the market.
Energy Minister Dan Van Holst Pelekaan said the boost would further stabilise the state’s grid, which relies heavily on renewable energy.
“We’re making the biggest battery in the world 50 percent bigger, but we’re also making it do more for consumers,” he told ABC News.
The minister said the expansion would allow massive amounts of energy to enter the grid almost instantaneously.
“To do that in large amounts very quickly is what we need to provide voltage support and frequency support so our grid stays stable.”
He said testing would not impact the grid’s functionality.
“This is really about testing the battery’s interface with the grid rather than testing the grid or generators or any other part,” he said.
The battery was built in 2017 under an agreement between Tesla, French renewables company Neoen and the former SA Labor government.
Tesla boss Elon Musk flew to Adelaide to announce the construction of the battery, the world’s largest, with then-premier Jay Weatherill, after promising to build it within 100 days or provide it free following a with Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.
The arrangement was mocked by several federal Liberal-National government ministers, including the newly installed Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
ABC News reports Mr Van Holst Pelekaan said the battery, at the Hornsdale Power Reserve, has delivered more than $150 million in savings in its first two years of operation.
“Upon successful completion of testing in the next few months, we expect these savings will continue to grow,” he said.
“The increase in storage power and capacity mean a faster response to disturbances such as network faults, so that within milliseconds the Hornsdale Power Reserve can help stabilise the grid.
“In demonstrating the benefits that batteries can provide, this will help inform the regulatory changes required to create new markets which attract new technologies to support renewable energy.”
The expansion project was announced late last year, when Neoen said it would take the battery’s capacity from 100 to 150 megawatts (MW).
The South Australian Government committed $15 million to the project, while the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) contributed $8 million.
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