WCA March 2018

From the Americas In September 2017 it was reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was checking progress on a giant battery, the world’s largest, being built by his company in South Australia. The American entrepreneur had committed to having the battery packs in place at a huge wind farm by 1 st December – the start of summer in the southern hemisphere – to help the state avoid a repeat of that crippling blackout. “For [Mr Musk], who has a habit of hatching ambitious ideas ranging from an 800-mph solar-powered hyperloop to a space-based Internet, it’s not just reputation that’s on the line,” Bloomberg wrote. “He’s pledged to provide the battery installation in Australia’s outback for free if he can’t get it working within 100 days of a contract being signed.” The contract had been signed; and on 30 th Novemeber, one day before the self-imposed deadline, the world’s largest battery was in the news again. Tesla had activated the unit at the Hornsdale wind farm in South Australia, ensuring that Mr Musk met his target for installing a grid-scale powerpack battery within the stipulated period, under penalty of absorbing the cost. Powering 30,000 homes for an hour The 100 megawatt (MW) system was partially charged for the first time on 24 th November. After a week of testing, the Australian Energy Market Operator and South Australian government had given Tesla’s energy solution the green light for operation. As reported by ABC News , Tesla’s battery solution was powered on as temperatures approached 100º Fahrenheit (35º Celsius) and the region faced low output from the state’s wind farms. Some 59MW of power was dispatched from the battery to support peak energy demands. According to Tesla (Palo Alto, California), better known for electric cars than batteries, the monstrous $50 million battery storage solution is made up of approximately 640 powerpacks (129 megawatt hours [MWh]) or roughly the quantity of batteries utilised by 1,300 Model S or Model X 100D consumer vehicles. The powerpack units charge using renewable energy from Hornsdale and then deliver electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia’s grid. The system is said by Tesla to be capable of powering approximately 30,000 homes for a little over an hour.  Mr Musk was not on hand for the launch ceremony on 1 st December (the first day of summer in the region), having left the exulting to Premier Jay Weatherill of South Australia. “While others are just talking, we are delivering our energy plan,” Mr Weatherill boasted – making the state “more self-sufficient and providing backup power and more affordable energy for South Australians this summer.”  According to the Tesla house organ Teslarati (“news, rumours, and reviews on all things Tesla”), the premier

was sending “the clearest message” that South Australia will be a leader in renewable energy with battery storage. It was implicit that the world’s largest lithium ion battery would be an important part of the state’s energy mix. (“Tesla Powers on Massive Battery as South Australia Prepares for Summertime Energy Demands,” 30 th November) Liberty House has high aspirations for environmentally friendly steelmaking. It also has a means of getting its power needs met “We have serious green power ambitions to achieve the green steel targets.” Jay Hambro, chief investment officer of GFG Alliance, the parent of British steelmaker Liberty House, was pledging his company to an ambitious undertaking: enabling Liberty to deliver on its plan for quadrupling production capacity solely by means of renewable power. In December, GFG launched a three-year, $940 million programme of spending on such power assets through its energy arm Simec. As reported by industry editor Alan Tovey of the Telegraph , the privately held business was expected to announce a $47m investment to expand existing hydropower generation facilities at its aluminium plant at Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands. Also in the works was a deal to buy another green energy supplier – not least for its staff, experienced in rolling out renewable power generation projects. That kind of know-how is seen as essential to gaining the additional 500 megawatts (MW) of power required to support Liberty’s expansion intentions. In late November, the company said it wanted to raise its steelmaking capacity from the current 1.1 million tons a year to 5 mty. According to the Telegraph , this would make Liberty account for about half the total steel production of the UK. (“Liberty House to Invest in New ‘Green Steel’ Strategy,” 2 nd December) “It wants to do this through its green steel initiative, recycling scrap instead of producing steel from scratch in coal-fired blast furnaces,” wrote Mr Tovey. “Liberty wants to use electric arc furnaces to melt the steel but these need immense amounts of power.”  In addition to its hydropower generation capability in Scotland, GFG has about 500MW of power generation capacity at a biomass-fuelled power station in Uskmouth, South Wales, and other biodiesel generators around the country. Some of the new power will come from expanding the generators in Scotland. The company is also believed to be planning a $230m wind farm there. Cybersecurity With cyberattack concerns widespread across grid modernisation initiatives in the USA, defence is mobilising

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2018

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