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What ever happened to the huge Tesla power bank that was installed? Did it work out?

BLKNSLVR 8y ago
There are a number of articles on RenewEconomy about its performance that explain it various successes and profitability: https://reneweconomy.com.au/?s=Tesla+Big+Battery https://reneweconomy.com.au/?s=Tesla+Big+Battery
xbmcuser 8y ago
It was extremely profitable for the company that ordered it which resulted in all these new orders that the article is talking about.
- antt 8y ago
  It is also under cutting the price that gas fired power stations need to be profitable. Since South Australia doesn't have coal or nuclear baseline generation any more we may see what happens when a state goes 100% renewable pretty soon. The answer on the few hot days this year has been "plunging neighboring states into blackouts".
  - BLKNSLVR 8y ago
    under cutting the price that gas fired power stations need to be profitable. That sounds like a gas fired power stations problem, not a battery problem. In fact, it sounds like a good economic argument for the battery, and for more of them. The answer on the few hot days this year has been "plunging neighboring states into blackouts". Can you please point to some evidence of this? It doesn't sound like a logical progression to me. If South Australian's power situation was to cause black outs in New South Wales or Victoria, there would be a million fantastic articles about it. I don't know what 'the rules' are, but I doubt Australia's two most populous states would be too excited about agreeing to rules that would cause SA's power to be maintained at the expense of theirs. I'm also pretty sure that in 2018 SA was a net exporter of power to the East (that's a different metric, but somewhat related).
Faaak 8y ago
It's the Hornsdale Power Reserve: https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/ https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/ Installed by Tesla to Neoen
antt 8y ago
An ant farting in a hurricane. It provides enough power to run he state for 6 minutes or so [0] [1]. Useful for peak lopping, but if batteries would be used to store renewables the bills would be about 20 times higher than they are now and Australia already has some of the most expensive power in the first world. South Australia is the most unhealthy energy market in the developed world, and several developing countries would be embarrassed by it. [0] https://aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-NEM/Data-dashboard https://aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-... current demand is 1300 MWh [1] http://theconversation.com/yes-sas-battery-is-a-massive-battery-but-it-can-do-much-more-besides-88480 http://theconversation.com/yes-sas-battery-is-a-massive-batt... 130 MWh of storage
- BLKNSLVR 8y ago
  An ant farting in a hurricane. and then It provides enough power to run he state for 6 minutes or so Powering an entire state for 6 minutes is massive. That's not what it's designed for, however. From what I've read it's designed to be a 'smoother' in times when the power system is under duress. South Australia is the most unhealthy energy market in the developed world I think you mean all of Australia. The market is severely gamed by primarily the gas generators at times when members of the aging coal fleet trip during either the night or when there's little wind, and so gas is left as the saviour. There have been times that gas generators have intentionally left turbines switched off so that the electricity from the operating turbines is of more value, as well as ignoring advice of the Market Operator to have generators 'ready to fire up' due to predicted dips in generation from the rest of the market. The current government believe in 'the free market', which would ideologically allow gaming of the system by the few participants who can jump in at times of need. However, this is what's a significant part of the cause of power prices in Australia being some of the highest in the world, and thus resulting in some people not being able to afford their bills. Imagine, in 2019, having to go back to candles? What an age we live in. A government at the helm when people were having to go back to reading stories by candle-light might have some multi-generational difficulty repairing their reputation. So they've been feebly attempting to bring the generators to heel. With little success. (There's also a lot of validity in the arguments about poor building regulation resulting in poorly- and un-insulated homes where electricity is used to fill comfort void whether for heating or cooling or both. New housing estates in Australia are a series of snug-fit cardboard boxes with pitched roofs)
taneq 8y ago
It's there, quietly doing its job and covering surges in demand so that hugely expensive gas fired turbines don't have to be spun up. It's saved some stupid amount of money so far.
jussij 8y ago
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) manages the electricity grid to which the Tesla battery connects and AEMO is reporting the battery works very well at helping them manage that grid. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/australian-energy-market-operator-likes-its-new-tesla-battery-quite-a-bit/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/austr...
pedroaraujo 8y ago
The Tesla batteries installed in South Australia are not used for keeping the city running just with solar, they are there to optimize the load and routing of energy through the entire region, to avoid outages when during sudden spikes of electricity usage.
g8oz 8y ago
It seems it did, at least in the realm of frequency regulation and with an attractive ROI to boot. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/08/teslas-battery-in-south-australia-breaks-stranglehold-of-natural-gas-industry/ https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/08/teslas-battery-in-south...

There are a number of articles on RenewEconomy about its performance that explain it various successes and profitability: https://reneweconomy.com.au/?s=Tesla+Big+Battery https://reneweconomy.com.au/?s=Tesla+Big+Battery

xbmcuser 8y ago

It was extremely profitable for the company that ordered it which resulted in all these new orders that the article is talking about.

antt 8y ago
It is also under cutting the price that gas fired power stations need to be profitable. Since South Australia doesn't have coal or nuclear baseline generation any more we may see what happens when a state goes 100% renewable pretty soon. The answer on the few hot days this year has been "plunging neighboring states into blackouts".
- BLKNSLVR 8y ago
  under cutting the price that gas fired power stations need to be profitable. That sounds like a gas fired power stations problem, not a battery problem. In fact, it sounds like a good economic argument for the battery, and for more of them. The answer on the few hot days this year has been "plunging neighboring states into blackouts". Can you please point to some evidence of this? It doesn't sound like a logical progression to me. If South Australian's power situation was to cause black outs in New South Wales or Victoria, there would be a million fantastic articles about it. I don't know what 'the rules' are, but I doubt Australia's two most populous states would be too excited about agreeing to rules that would cause SA's power to be maintained at the expense of theirs. I'm also pretty sure that in 2018 SA was a net exporter of power to the East (that's a different metric, but somewhat related).

Faaak 8y ago

It's the Hornsdale Power Reserve: https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/ https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/ Installed by Tesla to Neoen

antt 8y ago

An ant farting in a hurricane. It provides enough power to run he state for 6 minutes or so [0] [1]. Useful for peak lopping, but if batteries would be used to store renewables the bills would be about 20 times higher than they are now and Australia already has some of the most expensive power in the first world. South Australia is the most unhealthy energy market in the developed world, and several developing countries would be embarrassed by it. [0] https://aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-NEM/Data-dashboard https://aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-... current demand is 1300 MWh [1] http://theconversation.com/yes-sas-battery-is-a-massive-battery-but-it-can-do-much-more-besides-88480 http://theconversation.com/yes-sas-battery-is-a-massive-batt... 130 MWh of storage

BLKNSLVR 8y ago
An ant farting in a hurricane. and then It provides enough power to run he state for 6 minutes or so Powering an entire state for 6 minutes is massive. That's not what it's designed for, however. From what I've read it's designed to be a 'smoother' in times when the power system is under duress. South Australia is the most unhealthy energy market in the developed world I think you mean all of Australia. The market is severely gamed by primarily the gas generators at times when members of the aging coal fleet trip during either the night or when there's little wind, and so gas is left as the saviour. There have been times that gas generators have intentionally left turbines switched off so that the electricity from the operating turbines is of more value, as well as ignoring advice of the Market Operator to have generators 'ready to fire up' due to predicted dips in generation from the rest of the market. The current government believe in 'the free market', which would ideologically allow gaming of the system by the few participants who can jump in at times of need. However, this is what's a significant part of the cause of power prices in Australia being some of the highest in the world, and thus resulting in some people not being able to afford their bills. Imagine, in 2019, having to go back to candles? What an age we live in. A government at the helm when people were having to go back to reading stories by candle-light might have some multi-generational difficulty repairing their reputation. So they've been feebly attempting to bring the generators to heel. With little success. (There's also a lot of validity in the arguments about poor building regulation resulting in poorly- and un-insulated homes where electricity is used to fill comfort void whether for heating or cooling or both. New housing estates in Australia are a series of snug-fit cardboard boxes with pitched roofs)

taneq 8y ago

It's there, quietly doing its job and covering surges in demand so that hugely expensive gas fired turbines don't have to be spun up. It's saved some stupid amount of money so far.

jussij 8y ago

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) manages the electricity grid to which the Tesla battery connects and AEMO is reporting the battery works very well at helping them manage that grid. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/australian-energy-market-operator-likes-its-new-tesla-battery-quite-a-bit/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/austr...

pedroaraujo 8y ago

The Tesla batteries installed in South Australia are not used for keeping the city running just with solar, they are there to optimize the load and routing of energy through the entire region, to avoid outages when during sudden spikes of electricity usage.

g8oz 8y ago

It seems it did, at least in the realm of frequency regulation and with an attractive ROI to boot. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/08/teslas-battery-in-south-australia-breaks-stranglehold-of-natural-gas-industry/ https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/08/teslas-battery-in-south...