Original title: The world‘s largest energy storage power station caught fire, Musk: Prometheus liberated
[编译/观察者网 李焕宇]On July 30, one of the world‘s largest battery energy storage projects, the Australian “Victoria Big Battery” energy storage project using Tesla’s Megapack system, broke out. The accident did not cause any casualties. Tesla Chief Executive (CEO) Musk tweeted after the accident that “Prometheus (the firelighter in Greek mythology) was liberated (Prometheus Unbound).”
“Big Victoria Battery” catches fire
According to a Reuters report on July 30, the “Big Victoria Battery” that broke out in the fire was still under testing. The project is supported by the Australian government of 160 million Australian dollars and is operated by the French renewable energy giant Neoen. It uses the Tesla Megapack battery system. It was originally planned to be put into use in December this year, which is the summer of Australia.
At 10:30 in the morning of the same day, a 13-ton lithium battery in the power station caught fire. According to the British technology media “ITPro”, more than 30 fire trucks and about 150 firefighters participated in the rescue. The Australian fire department said that the fire did not cause any casualties and they worked hard to prevent the fire from spreading to other battery systems in the energy storage power station.
According to Neoen’s statement, because the power station has been disconnected from the grid, the accident will not affect the local power supply. However, the fire triggered a toxic smoke warning, and the authorities instructed residents in nearby suburbs to close doors and windows, turn off the heating and cooling systems, and bring pets indoors. A scientific official came to the scene to monitor the atmosphere, and a professional drone team was deployed here to monitor the fire.
At present, there is no one statement about the cause of the accident. The battery provider Tesla did not respond to media inquiries. Its CEO Musk sent a tweet “Prometheus liberated” after the accident, but in the comment area below, no one seemed to notice the occurrence. Fire in Australia.
The scene of the accident Image source: Australian National Fire AdministrationTesla powers energy storage
According to the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) on the 30th, the “Victoria Battery” is one of the world’s largest battery energy storage projects. The state of Victoria, Australia, where it is located, has proposed to increase the proportion of renewable energy by 2030. The target is raised to 50%, so such a large project is of great significance to help the state promote unstable renewable energy.
Energy storage is also an important direction for Tesla. The Megapacks battery system in this accident is a super battery launched by Tesla for the public sector in 2019. This year, Tesla announced its pricing-starting at $1 million, the annual maintenance fee is $6,570, and an annual increase of 2%.
In the conference call on the 26th, Musk specifically talked about the company’s growing energy storage business, saying that Tesla’s home product Powerwall battery demand has exceeded 1 million cells, and the public utility product Megapacks will have production capacity by the end of 2022. sold out.
The revenue of Tesla’s energy production and storage division reached $801 million in the second quarter of this year. Musk believes that the profit of its energy storage business will one day catch up or exceed the profit of its car and truck business.
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