Tesla announced on Friday it will build the world's largest lithium-ion battery in southern Australia, part of a bid to solve an energy crisis that has led to ongoing blackouts across the region.
Tesla will partner with French renewable energy company Neoen to build the 100-megawatt battery farm in South Australia state, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk promising to deliver the system within 100 days of signing the contract or it will be free.
"The system will be three times more powerful than any system on earth," tesla CEO Elon Musk told reporters in the state capital, Adelaide. "This is not like a minor foray into the frontier - this is like going three times further than anyone's gone before."
South Australia, which relies heavily on solar and wind-generated energy, has been scrambling to find a way to bolster its fragile power grid since the entire state suffered a blackout during a storm last year. Further blackouts plagued the state over the next few months.
The South Australia battery will store energy from Neoen's Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Adelaide. It will deliver energy during peak usage hours to help maintain the state's supply, and could power 30,000 homes, Tesla said.
The installation of the battery is expected to be complete by December.