Australia is an interesting look at the future of power grids. The continent’s caught between its aging coal-fired power plants (which even if the country didn’t have climate change commitments, would still be shut down simply because they’re too old to keep running), and an ever-increasing need for power. Renewables can help, but blackout issues in South Australia illustrate the need for baseload power. So Elon Musk is treating his giant battery farm like it’s a pizza, and promising 100 day delivery or it’s free.
Musk is no stranger to grandiose pronouncements, of course, but to be fair, he can likely back this one up. Tesla, after all, recently set up the small island of Ta’u and its 600 residents with a microgrid that offers them consistent, ongoing power. Still, though, we’re not talking a ten dollar meal, here. Musk just committed millions of dollars over Twitter:
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
If Tesla can show up, wire South Australia up with a battery farm, and get out the door in under four months, that’s a fairly compelling pitch to other municipalities looking at their baseload power issues. And if Musk will stick to the absurd time frames, they might gamble because, hey, free batteries!
(Via The Verge)