Tesla’s 100 Megawatt Lithium Ion Battery – The World’s Largest – Will Soon Be Operational In South Australia

The world’s largest lithium-ion battery, being built in South Australia by Elon Musk's Tesla to store renewable energy, will soon enter its final stage of testing, reports The Guardian.

Premier of South Australia Jay Weatherill said that Tesla had finished installing the battery powerpacks at Jamestown, adjacent to a windfarm. The 100-megawatt battery will soon be energised and tested to meet market and government regulatory requirements.

Musk had announced the project as a collaboration with French energy firm Neoen in July this year as part of the state government’s $550m energy programme.

At 129MWh the lithium ion battery is set to become the largest in the world and will be linked to the Hornsdale windfarm built by Neoen for renewable energy to be fed into the grid.

The battery will be officially commissioned next week.

The plan to build the battery came up after a statewide blackout owing to severe storms plagued the state, resulting in heavy load-shedding across Adelaide.

Musk had in March announced on Twitter that he would build the battery in 100 days after the agreement was signed and stated that if he couldn’t, he’d give it for free.