• Tesla virtual battery power plant in SA gets green light from new government
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South Australia will push ahead with a plan to install battery systems built by Elon Musk's Tesla in 50,000 homes, with the new State Government committing to continue the pro-battery agenda of its predecessor. The Weatherill Labor government announced the Tesla policy in February, declaring it would install battery and solar systems free of charge to create the world's "largest virtual power plant" and slash energy bills. The plan shared similarities with a Liberal policy allowing battery storage units in 40,000 homes, and it was unclear which of the two policies would be adopted following the election of Liberal Premier Steven Marshall. But in a speech at the Australian Energy Storage Conference, Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said the Government would implement both. "It's very important to be clear about this — we are honouring the existing commitments around the Tesla virtual power plant (VPP)," he said. ... "Subject to private finance, and the first two phases' success, the third phase could grow to up to 50,000 home batteries connected to new solar installations, and this is in addition to our government's 40,000 home election commitment." ... "I'm very glad Tesla is working with our Government. It's a great partnership shining a spotlight on South Australia." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-24/tesla-battery-plan-gets-green-light-from-sa-liberals/9794486
What do they mean by "virtual power plant?"
You can just download more power.
Distributed. Individual powerwalls in this case linked to some command server I guess, so they can collectively act as one even though they actually tens of thousands of seperate units.
Sounds like an interesting solution that doesn't require dedicated space like substations, etc.
They are also paired with solar panels, and given to low income households. So they can use the power they generate, and get the backup power from the battery if the grid goes down.
Neat! Decentralized power grids are interesting.
Apparently in WA our largest power station is household rooftop solar power because so many people have solar panels. Of course this also brings issue with the duck curve and all
Isn't all this tech also working towards the goal of making power draw constant, rather than having it spike during the day? Or was that just the last giga battery thing, and this is something different entirely?
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