South Australia builds world’s biggest lithium ion battery

Construction on the world’s most powerful lithium-ion battery has wrapped up in South Australia (SA).

The array of batteries, built by US energy storage giant Tesla, was constructed alongside a wind farm near Jamestown, 220 km north of Adelaide.

SA taxpayers subsidised the 100-megawatt battery to the tune of US$38 million in return for the state’s government being able to tap into the battery’s storage to stabilize the electricity grid during the high-demand summer period.

The facility will be able to power 30,000 SA homes for over an hour when the grid is operating above its peak capacity.
Testing of the battery will begin immediately with Tesla operating on a Dec 1 operation deadline.