Tesla's mega battery put to the test in Australia
A massive new backup battery system built by Tesla is already being put to good use.
According to the Washington Post, the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia has already responded to two energy outages in the last three weeks. The Post cites local media as saying the battery was able to kick in within a second, which officials called a record.
Earlier this month, the company announced it had achieved its goal of building the world's largest lithium-ion battery in less than 100 days. The goal was set by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who vowed on Twitter to stick to the deadline or else the project would be free.
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
The battery is charged using energy from a wind farm and helps to maintain the energy supply across the state.
BBC News reports that when fully charged, the battery can power up to 30,000 homes for an hour. However, it will mostly be used to supplement existing electricity supplies.
The Tesla initiative comes after South Australia dealt with a massive power outage in September 2016, when a storm knocked out the supply from the state's transmission network.
Tesla isn't the only company looking to solve Australia's power issues. In March, an Australian company called Lyon Group announced it would start building its own battery and solar farm in the northern part of the state.