NINJA STAR READY TO HIT THE AIR World’s biggest battery
A SMALL town in the South Australian outback will become home to the world’s biggest lithium ion battery as one of the world’s richest men seeks to help that state cope with its power woes.
Labor Premier Jay Weatherill hailed South Australia as a world leader in renewable energy, but the Federal Government warned the project would only go a small way to solving the state’s energy chal- “DISCO ninja” Betsy Burnett may measure in at just 150cm, but the 27- year- old is determined not to fall short of her goals on the world’s toughest obstacle course.
The former freestyle disco dancer and personal trainer will be among the 250 challengers tackling the course in Nine’s Ninja Warrior, which launches lenges. Tesla founder Elon Musk will partner with French renewable energy developer Neoen and the Government to create a 100MW battery farm half the size of Adelaide Oval in Jamestown.
The tech billionaire doubled down on a social media post in March vowing to fix South Australia’s power problems inside 100 days, insisting the SA Government not pay a cent if the project went overtime. The battery systems will be paired with 99 wind turbines at Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm, outside Jamestown, with 70 per cent of its generation to be reserved for government use and the rest to be fed into the market.
Mr Musk said the “massive installation” would create a huge number of local jobs during construction but said the tomorrow night. Burnett ( above) said while her height is one of the first things people comment on, she wants to prove that she is more than just a pint- sized pocket- rocket. “When people meet me, they’re like ‘ oh my gosh, you’re so cute, I just want to pick you up,’” she said.
“But I’ve picked them up instead.” self- sustaining “battery farm” would yield few ongoing jobs.
The billionaire said there was “some risk” to the plan – a crucial tenet of an SA Government’s $ 550 million energy plan necessitated by a number of blackouts and soaring energy prices.
“This is not a minor foray into the frontier,” Mr Musk said. “We’re confident in our modelling techniques and in the design of the system but whenever you make something three times bigger than anything that’s come before, there’s always some risk.”
All parties have signed off on the plan, but the 100- day countdown will not begin until it receives the tick of approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator.
SA Premier Jay Weatherill has continually promised the battery would be in place by the start of summer, and stuck with that time frame yesterday.
He hailed the “historic agreement”, which he said would transform the way renewable energy was stored and stabilise SA’s electricity grid.
“SA has been leading the nation in renewable energy – now we are leading the world in battery storage,” he said.
“It opens up new possibilities for renewable energy in this state, in this nation and around the world to be dispatchable.”