Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk on Friday offered to conserve Australia’s most renewable-energy dependent state from blackouts by setting up 100 megawatt hours worth of battery storage, valued at $25 million, under 100 days of signing an agreement.
The deal follows a string of power failures in the state of South Australia, consisting of a blackout that left market crippled for up to 2 weeks and stoked worries of more failures across the national electricity market due to tight supplies.
Musk made the enthusiastic offer on social media, and the government stated it could consider backing such a battery roll out by Tesla.
“The government stands ready through Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corp (CEFC) to deal with companies with major proposals to support the release of more storage,” Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg stated in an email to Reuters.
Musk made the offer in reaction to a remark made on social media by Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of Australian software maker Atlassian Corp, who said he would want to line up financing and political assistance if Tesla could supply batteries that would fix South Australia’s problems.
Musk responded by tweeting: “Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?”
He estimated a cost of $250 per kilowatt hour for 100 megawatt hour systems, which would imply a price of $25 million for the battery packs.
“You’re on mate. Give me 7 days to try and sort out politics & funding,” tweeted Cannon-Brookes.
He stated he was swamped with calls on Friday after the exchange and aspired to get the strategy off the ground.
