When Elon Musk offered to build what would be the largest grid storage battery installation in the world in South Australia last year, he set off a chain of events that may have implications for the entire world. In a show of typical Muskian over-the-top bravado, Elon promised to build the entire facility in 100 days or it would be free. It was completed nearly 40 days early.
Since then, the project has performed precisely as advertised, bringing stability to the grid in South Australia and making money for Neoen, the system operator, which recently pocketed $800,000 in 48 hours by absorbing excess electricity from the grid and selling it back to the grid operator later when demand increased.
Australia — with its abundant sunshine — has already been a leader in rooftop solar, but the country also has blinders on when it comes to power because it sits on vast reserves of coal — enough to meet all the world’s energy needs for 1,000 years some people claim.
A substantial part of Australia’s economy is tied to mining coal and shipping it to India, China, and other Asian countries. That means that, just like in America, coal plays an important role in national politics. As just one example, the grid storage plan in South Australia raised the hackles of quite a few politicians who owe their exalted positions to the generosity of coal companies.
But Musk and his audacity have caused the scales to fall from the eyes of more people Down Under. Now, Tesla and the government of South Australia have announced a stunning new project that could change how electricity is generated not only in Australia but in every country in the world.
They plan to install rooftop solar system on 50,000 homes in the next 4 years and link them them together with grid storage facilities to create the largest virtual solar power plant in history.
And here’s the kicker: The rooftop solar systems will be free…
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