Tesla Powerpack in Australia, Volvo Expands Electrification

This week, Tesla announced that it’s been selected to provide grid-scale energy storage for the South Australian Government via a Tesla manufactured Powerpack system with 100 megawatts of capacity.

It was a busy week for Tesla that also saw the automotive innovator start production of its long awaited Model 3.

The South Australian project pairs Tesla with global energy provider Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, South Australia and calls for charging the Powerpack system using the wind farm’s renewable energy. The electricity can then be delivered as needed to the South Australia electrical infrastructure.

The system is expected to be up and running by December. Tesla claims it will be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world and, once completed, will provide enough electricity to meet the power needs of more than 30,000 homes.

Ultimately, the expectation is that Tesla’s Powerpack system will improve the reliability of South Australia’s electrical infrastructure, helping to solve power shortages, reduce brown-outs and manage peak loads during the summer.

In other related electrification news, Volvo surprised the automotive world with its pronouncement that every vehicle it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor.

The news was both symbolic and monumental, marking the point in automotive history that a major automaker of vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines has publicly stated that electrification is at the core of its future business.

With plans to launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three under the Volvo marque and two as high performance Polestar models, Volvo indicated its expanded portfolio also would include plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid cars.