Hon Jay Weatherill MP Premier Friday,
In a landmark moment for renewable energy, Hornsdale Power Reserve, featuring the world’s largest lithium ion battery, was launched today by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Neoen Deputy CEO Romain Desrousseaux.
This means that, for the first time, clean and affordable wind energy can be dispatched to the grid 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether the wind is blowing or not, improving system reliability.
Tesla powerpacks, connected to Neoen’s Hornsdale windfarm, are now operational and delivering power to the National Energy Market, providing system security services to South Australia.
The ability to dispatch into the system when needed, also opens up the opportunity for Hornsdale Power Reserve to sign competitive long term contracts with medium-sized business directly. Today’s launch follows a successful period of regulatory testing that ensured the battery’s ability to both act as a generator and charge to and from the National Energy Market.
The battery was delivered ahead of the State Government’s deadline of the beginning of summer, and well ahead of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s self-imposed deadline of “100 days or it’s free”, just 63 days after the grid connection-agreement was signed.
Background
In March 2017, the State Government announced its Energy Plan, with the objective of delivering cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy to South Australians.
This plan included building the nation’s largest battery, to store renewable energy and have back up power for when we need it. In July, following a competitive process, French renewable energy company Neoen and US sustainable energy company Tesla, were awarded the contract to deliver the project, which would be the world’s largest lithium ion battery and installed near Jamestown.
Quotes attributable to Premier Jay Weatherill
South Australia is now leading the world in dispatchable renewable energy, delivered to homes and businesses 24/7.
This is history in the making.
Neoen and Tesla approached the State Government with their bold plan to deliver this project, and they have met all of their commitments, ensuring South Australia has back up power this summer.
I want to express my gratitude to the workers who have constructed this battery – they have every right to be proud of what they’ve constructed.
Quotes attributable to Neoen Deputy CEO, Romain Desrousseaux
We would like to acknowledge the efficiency, support and vision of the South Australian Government to bring the state to the forefront of global energy storage technology.
Neoen is focused on delivering long-term, sustainable energy solutions to the country and ambitious projects like the Hornsdale Power Reserve will contribute to South Australia leading the way into a clean energy future.
Neoen is pleased to be able to reinforce its Australian footprint through the achievement of the Hornsdale Wind Farm & Battery and is extremely proud to contribute further to the development of renewable energy in Australia.
Quotes attributable to Tesla
The completion of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery in record time shows that a sustainable, effective energy solution is possible. We are proud to be part of South Australia’s renewable energy future, and hope this project provides a model for future deployments around the world.
The South Australian Government should be congratulated for ensuring their energy supply is not only sustainable, but will help solve power shortages, reduce variability, and manage summertime peak load.