Mr has weighed into South Australia’s energy crisis, boldly claiming he can fix the problem for $33 million and in under 100 days.
Elon Musk on Friday said his US-based company, Tesla, could build a 100MWh battery farm less than four months after a contract being signed.
Such a system, he said, would go a long way to preventing a repeat of recent blackouts due to load-shedding. Tesla recently launched a similar, but smaller, system in California.
Today billionaire Mr Musk revealed he had spoken by phone with Premier Jay Weatherill, describing the State Government as “clearly committed to a smart, quick solution” to the state’s power woes. Mr Weatherill confirmed to advertiser.com.au that he had “positive discussions” with Mr Musk “regarding his battery proposal” in a call which is understood to have lasted about 20 minutes. The pair are expected to speak again in coming days.
“Many local, national and international businesses have come to us with proposals in the weeks since we announced our plans to intervene in the broken national energy market,” Mr Weatherill said, although he would not put a figure on the number.
“We will be releasing our energy plan very soon.” Mr Weatherill did not comment on whether Mr Musk’s proposal was part of that plan but a spokesman said it was “consistent” with the Government’s thinking.
The spokesman said the SA Government did not rule out committing money to the project.
According to figures quoted by Mr Musk, the SA system would cost $33.2 million. Shipping, taxes and installation costs would be extra.
His comments, via Twitter, were prompted by a challenge from fellow tech-billionaire, Australian Mike Cannon-Brookes…….
Green say Elon Musk’s plan is a game changer Australian Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young says Elon Musk’s proposal to solve South Australia’s energy crisis with battery storage is the game changer our state needs to switch back on.
In a statement, she said: “I’m not a gambling woman, but what do we have to lose here? Blackouts, expensive power bills, or cheap and clean renewable energy with reliable battery storage – the answer is staring us in the face.
To make batteries work the government will have to change the energy market rules – so the market can’t keep being gamed by the big old power companies who’ve been screwing SA for too long. This is a win for householders because power prices will be forced down. Who doesn’t want that?
“We live in the perfect state for wind and solar. Battery technology allows us to make hay while the sun shines, storing the power so we can use it when we want and need. While chairing a senate inquiry into battery storage, I’ve heard evidence that if 20,000 homes with solar panels had a battery as well, the load shedding that cut off the air conditioning when we needed it most last month wouldn’t have happened.
“This is the innovation Malcolm Turnbull promised when he declared he would be the ‘Innovation Prime Minister’. It’s time he showed his hand on SA’s energy crisis – because putting it all on black is not a solution.
“It’s a wager we should double down on!” http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/elon-musk-says-his-tesla-battery-company-could-solve-south-australias-energy-crisis-in-100-days/news-story/9bec22122086cb5941d4c05916340def
Greens say Elon Musk’s plan is a game changer Australian 
Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young says Elon Musk’s proposal to solve South Australia’s energy crisis with battery storage is the game changer our state needs to switch back on.
Antinuclear 
The Editor
The Advertiser
It’s disappointing that the Weatherill government has chosen to focus on only one side of the electricity grid supply-demand problem.
Grid supply solutions such as new power stations and large scale energy storage tend to be complex, capital intensive, and slow to implement. Demand solutions such as double glazing, solar hot water storage and rooftop solar+battery systems tend to be simple, labour intensive, and quick to implement. The former often requires imported technology and equipment, whilst the latter uses local expertise and services.
A supply-only approach ensures that electricity grid problems don’t go away, while a demand approach tends to keep a lid on the problem. The supply-only approach is reminiscent of the approach to water in SA, an approach that led to an expensive, un-utilised drain on SA taxpayers.
SA consumers are taking things into their own hands by installing rooftop solar panels with battery storage. This will decrease the demand for power stations which are increasingly under threat of being expensive stranded assets.
Dennis Matthews
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