Elon Musk at the South Australian battery event.
Image taken from a Tesla video.
Green Energy Times
On September 28, 2016, the state of South Australia experienced a violent storm that tore down important transmission lines. A series of faults over the course of less than three minutes blacked out the entire state for a long time, apart from those areas on micro-grids.
After studying the situation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested a solution. “The state,” he said, “could more safely rely on renewable energy backed up with batteries.” He offered to build an 100-megawatt battery, the largest in the world, and he backed the deal with a promise: If Tesla could not have the battery built and running within 100 days from the time the contract to build it was signed, the battery would be free.
It took months to get through the necessary legal work, including approving the project as a concept and putting it out for bids. Tesla won the bid, and went to work.
The contract was signed on September 29, 2017. After signing, Musk put on a special event, to which 500 people were invited. It was a colorful show, with big screens and lights. And less than 100 minutes after the contract was signed, the event was powered by the batteries Tesla had already installed. About half the battery system was already up and running.
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