The Tesla founder Elon Musk says he can build a 100MW battery storage farm within 100 days or provide the system free of charge.
Elon Musk, the billionaire co-founder of electric car giant Tesla, has given a challenge to the South Australian and federal governments, stating that he can solve the state’s energy woes within 100 days or he’ll deliver the 100MW battery storage system for free.
Elon Musk's Pledge
Elon Musk pledges to fix energy crisis of South Australia within 100 days, or to do it for free if he fails to meet the deadline. He has prompted calls from citizens of New Zealand and the prime minister of Ukraine for the billionaire to bring similar projects to their own countries. Citizens from many other countries have taken to social media to ask Elon Musk to bring his technology to their countries. Storms have caused terrible blackouts in the South Australia leading to price spikes with local energy concerns struggling to meet demand as a result of damage to infrastructure. Solar city is an energy firm Musk founded with his cousin Lyndon Rive. It recently merged with a car company Tesla, of which Musk is the CEO of.
Australian Energy Crisis
Australian Prime Minister has just declared a state of national energy emergency. An Australian Energy Market Operator says “either gas or electric generation is going to come up short in meeting demand unless they come upon a quick solution.”
When talking about energy crisis in South Australia, it’s important that we first mention that South Australia is a world leader in the integration of wind and solar energy. Currently, the state generates an impressive 41 percent of its electricity through intermittent renewable like wind and solar. However despite the amazing feat of securing a large percentage of renewable energy, wholesale prices of electricity in South Australia have hit a huge increase, forcing the SA government to re-open an additional natural gas plant that had previously been brought offline. The situation is pretty complicated.
The entire World needs a savior
The Twitter conversation of Elon Musk over the energy topics also caught the attention of many other countries that are in the middle of dealing with their own energy problems.
The promise of Elon Musk was applauded by many Australians including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who thanked Musk on Twitter for an "in-depth discussion" saying “Thanks @elonmusk for a great in depth discussion today about energy storage and its role in delivering affordable & reliable electricity”.
A user on twitter by the name of @5AllanLeVito urged Elon Musk to bring a similar project to Ukraine. Elon Musk replied back "sure", and laid out the cost.
The price Elon Musk quoted was the same figure he had told Cannon-Brooks for the South Australia project - $250 per kWh for 100 MWH-plus systems. Elon Musk's response prompted Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman to ask for Elon Musk to talk the proposal "over in details".
Matthew Warner, co-founder of agricultural technology firm Acuris Systems, asked the Tesla CEO Elon Musk if he could come to New Zealand, where the entrepreneur is based. Elon Musk replied that he is "looking forward to it", and adding that "Lord of the Rings" is his favorite book. The movie version of the trilogy was filmed in New Zealand and Elon Musk said he wants to visit.
Given the interest that world leaders are starting to show for energy storage technology of Tesla, it definitely seems like Elon Musk’s vision of a future anchored on sustainable and renewable energy sources is surely within reach.
Do you guys think Elon Musk Can Deliver on His Promises?
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