Your mates who live in that land of wine and churches, South Australia, have been having some issues with their electricity supply. Big issues.
Since the entire state lost power last September after a string of storms systems that can only be categorised fairly as “big fuck-off ones” swept over the state, SA’s power grid has experienced three significant blackout events. The latest one, back in early February, saw some 90,000-odd homes without power.
The energy crisis is looming as a significant issue for Australia this year, with gas supplier AGL warning they might not be able to meet demand this coming winter. Heatwave conditions in NSW also saw the state government face the rather unprecedented move of being asked by suppliers to urge consumers to cut usage in order to avoid blackouts at peak heat.
So in an attempt to stave off disaster – one that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday declared was a “national energy emergency” which is ah… worrying – the country might have found itself a somewhat unexpected saviour in the form tech giants Tesla and Atlassian.
Tesla, the new energy kingpins, boldly stated that they would (if given the contract) ensure that at least 100mw of battery storage would be installed in South Australia within 100 days. And if they failed to meet that deadline, the state wouldn’t pay a cent.
Tesla’s VP for energy products Lyndon Rive first made the claim – a “commitment” as he put it – that 100 – 300mw of energy storing battery units could be installed and operational in South Australia inside 100 days, providing enough emergency energy support to ensure the state’s blackout woes are resolved virtually permanently.
And this is where Aussie tech-behemoth Atlassian factors in. Co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes caught wind of the proposal, and even offered to gather the cash together himself.
Lyndon & @elonmusk – how serious are you about this bet? If I can make the $ happen (& politics), can you guarantee the 100MW in 100 days? https://t.co/av38xcizNo
— Mike Cannon-Brookes (@mcannonbrookes) March 9, 2017
Tesla’s founder Elon Musk subsequently then doubled down on Rive’s original offer, reiterating the 100 day promise to the people of South Australia.
@mcannonbrookes Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2017
That is a hell of an offer.
‘Course it would take a hellaciously big gamble on the part of any state government to commit to an energy plan that progressive, but that – for better or worse – is the world we live in.
Rive, for what it’s worth, also asserted the same project could be replicated in Victoria, which is facing its own energy crisis thanks to the impending closure of the Hazelwood coal plant which is set to leave a 1600mw hole in the state’s supply grid.
These are interesting times we’re facing, and this time around the answer might not be as easy as flicking a switch.
Source: AFR.
Photo: VCG/Getty.
