In November 2017, Tesla finished construction on a gigantic lithium battery in South Australia. It is currently the world’s biggest such battery, and it will store energy produced by a nearby wind farm. It will, hopefully, end the blackout and power cuts that have plagued South Australia and its 1.7 million citizens. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, accomplished the feat in record time in response to a bet and his long-time goal of having the world switch to renewable energy sources.
The Giant Battery in South Australia
The battery’s story began in September 2016, when a ferocious storm that included several lightning strikes left much of South Australia without power. Subsequent storms and heat waves caused more blackouts over the next few months. Lyndon Rive, the head of Tesla’s battery division, boasted that the company could solve Australia’s energy problem by building a battery capable of storing 100 to 300 MW – within 100 days. Musk sweetened the deal by declaring if Tesla failed to make the deadline, the Australian government could keep the battery for free.
In March 2017, the state government of South Australia announced a $500 million plan for improving the energy grid that earmarked some of the money towards a battery that could store 100 MW. In July, Tesla outbid the competition for the project. They immediately broke ground, so they were already halfway finished when they signed the contract on September 29. Tesla finished construction of the battery on November 23 – 40 days ahead of the deadline. In early December, they installed the battery and hooked it up to a windfarm that will generate up to 325 MW of electricity. Tesla’s battery will be able to store enough electricity to power 30,000 homes for an hour. The battery will continue providing power during storms when wind turbines have to shut down for safety reasons.
The above story demonstrates both Tesla’s prowess in construction and its commitment to renewable energy. Many other companies are following suit, as renewable becomes increasingly technologically and economically feasible. In fact, in 2016, the World Economic Forum reported that the world’s countries had invested $286 billion on renewable energy, while spending $130 billion on fossil fuel production. China alone spent $103 billion dollars on renewable energy fuel sources in 2015. Battery technology is still lagging behind a bit, but we’re getting there.
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is a futurist and entrepreneur who firmly believes that humanity must move away from fossil fuels in order to have a sustainable future. Despite his love of technology, he is wary of AI, for he believes that a technology that can surpass human capabilities is potentially dangerous.
A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Musk now lives in Los Angeles, California. He first attracted attention in the mid-90s when he and his brother founded a web software company called Zip2. Over the years, he founded other companies including such well-known entities as PayPal, SolarCity, and SpaceX. As he believes that humans can reduce the risk of our own extinction by establishing a colony on Mars, he hoped SpaceX would reawaken people’s interest in space travel.
Musk also believes that it is imperative to move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He thus established Tesla in 2003 which released its first electric cars five years later. Three years later, he and his cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive, founded SolarCity. By 2013, it had become the second-largest provider of solar power systems in the US. It became a subsidiary of Tesla three years later.
Tesla introduced two batteries in 2015: the Powerwall for home use and the Powerpack for industries. The year 2017 saw the debut of the Solar Roof, solar panels made from tempered glass that can be connected to a Powerwall and thus ensure that the homeowner always has electricity even when the grid suffers an outage.
Musk’s Master Plans
Back in 2006, Musk outlined a master plan for both electric cars and solar power. The first part of the plan simply involved making increasingly inexpensive electric cars, and the second involved providing solar power.
Ten years later, Musk decided “Mission mostly accomplished,” and outlined a “Master Plan, Part Deux” that included making solar roofs with battery storage, making more types of electric vehicles, and working with self-driving cars to make them safer and more profitable. Musk envisions that people who have self-driving cars will be able to rent them out to other people. Of course, people will communicate both their car’s availability and their need for a car over the internet.
In 2017, the Tesla Model 3 made its debut. While a very stylish-looking car, it costs around $35,000 compared to the $100,000 its predecessors cost. Musk also plans to add electric buses and trucks to his fleet of electric cars.
Musk firmly believes that transitioning to renewable fuels is necessary for the simple reason that fossil fuels are not replaceable and we will eventually run out. He also points out that scientists have warned about the environmental consequences of continuing to use fossil fuels. Musk takes such warning seriously and believes that transitioning to renewable energy will prevent the worst effects.
Conclusion
Tesla is no longer alone. Other car companies like Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen have hopped onto the electric car bandwagon. They either are already making their own electric cars or plan to make them. As electric cars, solar panels and batteries continue dropping in price, they will become increasing competitive with older technologies and eventually supplant them.