Tesla Superchargers in Australia will lead to the world’s biggest battery

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Tesla’s upcoming Supercharger route in Southern Australia will provide drivers with the opportunity to marvel in the world’s biggest battery.

Our new Supercharger route in South Australia will soon allow Tesla owners to visit the world's largest battery site https://t.co/3yBcyunVU2

— Tesla (@TeslaMotors) September 7, 2017

The project is taking shape near Jamestown, South Australia. Yet, the closest Superchargers at the moment are the next province over in the city of Melbourne.

Once the new Superchargers are added, the network would span the coast from the eastern city of Brisbane to the Jamestown area. A Jamestown Supercharger could be a launch point to connect more cities on the coast west of the region, eventually tapping into Western Australia as well.

Tesla’s tweet can be seen as an example of the company’s commitment to expanding its Supercharger network in the region.

Tesla started the battery project in response to blackouts in the Southern Australian region. Musk committed back in March to solve the Southern Australian power crisis in 100 days.

The 100 megawatt, 129-megawatt-hour Powerpack system will charge from a wind farm and will store energy for backup power in the event of grid instability.

“Tesla Powerpack will charge using renewable energy from the Hornsdale Wind Farm and then deliver electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia’s electrical infrastructure,” Tesla said in a press release.

Recent news about a new power deal in the region, however, could have an impact the relationship between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Premier Jay Weatherill. It was announced in early August that the country would be forging ahead with an energy plan that could potentially favor gas companies.

“We do not feel that the draft regulations and supporting consultation paper are representative of the current South Australian position as leaders and innovators in the renewable energy space,” Tesla’s Mark Twidell wrote.

Overall, the tweet can be seen as another way Tesla has committed to developing sustainable infrastructure in Australia and providing drivers with a reliable network in the country.

Source 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

In Bath County, Virginia, high in the State's western mountains, is an artificial lake that acts as a "battery" for Nuclear power generators in Louisa County in mid-State, and at the Coast. It allows Nuclear reactors to operate at a constant rate.

They pump water uphill into the lake at low demand, and at high demand times use the elevated water to generate hydroelectric power.

The Bath County Pumped Storage Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric power plant, which is described as the “largest battery in the world”, with a generation capacity of 3,003 MW.  

The station is located in the northern corner of Bath County, Virginia, on the southeast side of the Eastern Continental Divide, which forms this section of the border between Virginia and West Virginia.

The station consists of two reservoirs separated by about 1,260 feet (380 m) in elevation. It is the largest pumped-storage power station in the world.

Construction on the power station, with an original capacity of 2,100 megawatts (2,800,000 hp), began in March 1977 and was completed in December 1985 at a cost of $1.6 billion,  Voith-Siemens upgraded the six turbines between 2004 and 2009, increasing power generation to 500.5 MW and pumping power to 480 megawatts (640,000 hp) for each turbine.   Bath County Station is jointly owned by Dominion Generation (60%) and FirstEnergy (40%), and managed by Dominion.  It stores energy for PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization in 13 states and the District of Columbia.  ( from Wikipedia )