A single Tesla Powerpack unit has already saved an Australian town $1.5 million

[William Gayde]

Converting to solar and other forms of renewable energy is clearly a step in the right direction to combat climate change, but it's not without its challenges. What if the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing? Large commercial and industrial customers need reliable power around the clock regardless of the weather. That's where Tesla and their Powerpack battery system comes in. One city in Australia is showing just how good of an investment these systems are.

In the past, companies have typically turned to what is called a "grid tie" system which falls back to using energy from the grid during hours of low renewable production. The Powerpack system stores excess energy that the customer isn't using during overly sunny or windy times of the day. This energy can then be used during the night or in less windy times without the need for a connection to the grid.

Logan City in Queensland, Australia had recently installed a solar power system for their water treatment plant. Before installing their Powerpack system, they planned to maintain a connection to the grid for when the sun wasn't shining. After consideration, they opted for a single 95kWh Powerpack system and have since saved an estimated $1.5 million in energy costs.

They didn't disclose the price of the system, but it is estimated to be around $100,000 - $200,000 and can power the plant 24 hours a day. This rate of a return on investment shows just how much potential these systems have going forward.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/71171-single-tesla-powerpack-unit-has-already-saved-australian.html

 

[TheBigT42]

Tesla...Those evil bastards

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Power packs are very likely the future for Tesla. I see them as the leaders in this field when most vehicles are fully electric, selling off their vehicle division to a proper established vehicle manufacturer and concentrating solely on this type of business.

 

[wiyosaya]

Power packs are very likely the future for Tesla. I see them as the leaders in this field when most vehicles are fully electric, selling off their vehicle division to a proper established vehicle manufacturer and concentrating solely on this type of business.

I am 100 percent for this type of thing. However, the current cost is prohibitive for those without deep pockets. 95 kWh is substantial and more than the average household needs. Aside from that, I wonder what the maintenance is on these things.

When someone develops a supercapacitor that is capable of replacing the batteries in devices like this, as I see it anyway, this type of thing will really take off.

There are entities that will sit on this type of thing. For instance, look up Gas Filled Panels. They are capable of R-values of 18-21 per inch compared to the best of foams at 7-per inch. With an r-value that high, a house using standard 2x4 construction could be made superinsulated and the average house would have heating/cooling requirements that would be minuscule compared to current requirements. Yet the patent for the application of gas filled panels to housing construction was bought by some company and sat on. No development took place, no breakthroughs, nothing. As a result, most places are still using fiberglass and foam.

Pardon my pessimism, but with jerks like that in the world, I think the world has a long, long, long way to go, and devices like this will remain out-of-reach for many.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I am 100 percent for this type of thing. However, the current cost is prohibitive for those without deep pockets. 95 kWh is substantial and more than the average household needs. Aside from that, I wonder what the maintenance is on these things.

When someone develops a supercapacitor that is capable of replacing the batteries in devices like this, as I see it anyway, this type of thing will really take off.

There are entities that will sit on this type of thing. For instance, look up Gas Filled Panels. They are capable of R-values of 18-21 per inch compared to the best of foams at 7-per inch. With an r-value that high, a house using standard 2x4 construction could be made superinsulated and the average house would have heating/cooling requirements that would be minuscule compared to current requirements. Yet the patent for the application of gas filled panels to housing construction was bought by some company and sat on. No development took place, no breakthroughs, nothing. As a result, most places are still using fiberglass and foam.

Pardon my pessimism, but with jerks like that in the world, I think the world has a long, long, long way to go, and devices like this will remain out-of-reach for many.

A lot of revolutionary breakthroughs and ideas are just lying dormant in secrecy, especially in the medical field simply because older methods, techniques and available medicine hasn't been milked to it's fullest yet. If you fully cure a patient, you've just lost a customer and a guaranteed money source.

 

[amstech]

But they don't do double damage to the P.E.K.K.A. anymore.

 

[NotParker]

Fake News.

"saved an estimated $1.5 million in energy costs"

Nope.

The original story says: "has saved ratepayers $1.9 million in power connection costs"

And the original story says they use 323 solar panels. Those aren't free.

"constructed so far from the nearest power grid that it needed its own power source to be economically viable"

"the council did not need to build a sealed road to the facility because it could operate largely by itself"

Very special circumstances not applicable to anywhere else.

 

[Vulcanproject]

It's an interesting case study but limited circumstances exist for replication of it.

 

[Uncle Al]

Spoke with a friend of mine from "down under" and the story is true. The major difference is that the town controls the power supply and unlike most towns in the US, the power company is not independent and cannot refuse to use or buy back surplus power as well; all of which goes toward making the project meaningful. The TVA puts on a good public face but actively resists any form of solar power projects. In one project I ran, the TVA tried to force us to accept total liability for any damage to our equipment due to lightning that might travel through their lines and they offered a maximum payback of just 10% of power sold back to them thus providing them with a 90% return with no production costs or risks.

 

[spectrenad]

Fake News.

"saved an estimated $1.5 million in energy costs"

Nope.

The original story says: "has saved ratepayers $1.9 million in power connection costs"

And the original story says they use 323 solar panels. Those aren't free.

"constructed so far from the nearest power grid that it needed its own power source to be economically viable"

"the council did not need to build a sealed road to the facility because it could operate largely by itself"

Very special circumstances not applicable to anywhere else.

It's still money saved. The way I see it, they would have brought solar pannels anyway, but still would have needed to be linked to the power grid without a Powerpack, for supply during nights or cloudy days.

And yes, the situation is quite unique, in that not many buildings are that far from the grid. But at the same time, it proves that it can really benefits most buildings that ARE that far from the grid.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

These powerpacks just keep getting better and better.

A de-centralized grid, with every house having battery pack backups or large substations handling battery backups to capture solar energy during the day would go a long way to fighting emissions. Hopefully these powerpacks lead to a major improvement in battery tech, so we can finally get those 500+ mile electric cars.

Also good to see Australia experimenting with solar. That country may be one of the best positioned to use solar power year round.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Power packs are very likely the future for Tesla. I see them as the leaders in this field when most vehicles are fully electric, selling off their vehicle division to a proper established vehicle manufacturer and concentrating solely on this type of business.

I am 100 percent for this type of thing. However, the current cost is prohibitive for those without deep pockets. 95 kWh is substantial and more than the average household needs. Aside from that, I wonder what the maintenance is on these things.

When someone develops a supercapacitor that is capable of replacing the batteries in devices like this, as I see it anyway, this type of thing will really take off.

There are entities that will sit on this type of thing. For instance, look up Gas Filled Panels. They are capable of R-values of 18-21 per inch compared to the best of foams at 7-per inch. With an r-value that high, a house using standard 2x4 construction could be made superinsulated and the average house would have heating/cooling requirements that would be minuscule compared to current requirements. Yet the patent for the application of gas filled panels to housing construction was bought by some company and sat on. No development took place, no breakthroughs, nothing. As a result, most places are still using fiberglass and foam.

Pardon my pessimism, but with jerks like that in the world, I think the world has a long, long, long way to go, and devices like this will remain out-of-reach for many.

Do you know which company bought and sat on them, per chance?

 

[captaincranky]

Since when is "battery backup", big news. The big news is the solar panels.

Since Musk introduced these "battery packs", I've maintained they're worthless, without being tied to an "alternative energy source", something other than the power grid.

I supposed they could be convenient if you live in an area, (like I do), with typically very short power outages, but for those days long no electricity situations, they'd be crap.

In my case, a backup generator could be had for about $300.00. The biggest worry I'd have is the gasoline in it going stale for lack of use...

Remember kidz, batteries cost money, (in the case of these, big money), and it takes more juice to charge them, than they give back.

Perhaps as importantly, Musk makes ton of money with businesses which lose money, notably Tesla.

 

[Polycount]

Glad to hear this. I really want to see where this technology goes a decade or two from now.

 

[drufense]

Pardon my ignorance, but I seem to be missing the point of this story the way it is framed. Is it that using battery backup with solar panels in this way is new or only Tesla makes batteries that can be used at this scale like this; or is it that Tesla's brand of batteries are way better than the competition...?

 

[captaincranky]

Pardon my ignorance, but I seem to be missing the point of this story the way it is framed. Is it that using battery backup with solar panels in this way is new or only Tesla makes batteries that can be used at this scale like this; or is it that Tesla's brand of batteries are way better than the competition...?

Dude, Musk weaseled an enormous amount of money from Matsushita, (Panasonic), to build his "Gigafactory".. TBH, I don't even consider them "his batteries

 

[Photonengineer]

Pardon my ignorance, but I seem to be missing the point of this story the way it is framed. Is it that using battery backup with solar panels in this way is new or only Tesla makes batteries that can be used at this scale like this; or is it that Tesla's brand of batteries are way better than the competition...?

Dude, Musk weaseled an enormous amount of money from Matsushita, (Panasonic), to build his "Gigafactory".. TBH, I don't even consider them "his batteries

The battery chemistry, anode design and internal packaging are all Tesla intellectual property. Tesla owns it, and partner Panasonic gets a piece of the manufacturing.

 

[captaincranky]

The battery chemistry, anode design and internal packaging are all Tesla intellectual property. Tesla owns it, and partner Panasonic gets a piece of the manufacturing.

Make what you will of this:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-t...panasonic-for-gigafactory-cells-idUSKBN12X1FR

 

[Photonengineer]

Make what you will of this:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-t...panasonic-for-gigafactory-cells-idUSKBN12X1FR

A co-manufacturing agreement. Very common. The Fremont, CA plant now used by Tesla was also such a plant, run by GM and Toyota to produce the cloned twins; the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe.

 

[captaincranky]

A co-manufacturing agreement. Very common. The Fremont, CA plant now used by Tesla was also such a plant, run by GM and Toyota to produce the cloned twins; the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe.

TBH, I'm certain that Musk didn't reinvent the wheel with respect to the things you mentioned. I believe you can patent a car fender too, which means after market vendors have to change a tiny thing here or there to be legal to sell said parts.

https://newrepublic.com/article/122820/infuriating-reason-car-repairs-are-so-expensive

I'm sorry but I honestly don't think Musk is anywhere the innovator he claims to be. After all, haven't lithium batteries been around as long as, or longer than, Tesla.

And BTW, Panasonic brought that debt forward at the time of that filing, which means Tesla still owed them the money.