Tesla Big Battery Outsmarts Lumbering Coal Units After Loy Yang Trips (reneweconomy.com.au)

The Tesla big battery is having a crucial impact on Australia's electricity market, far beyond the South Australia grid where it was expected to time shift a small amount of wind energy and provide network services and emergency back-up in case of a major problem. From a report: Last Thursday, one of the biggest coal units in Australia, Loy Yang A 3, tripped without warning at 1.59am, with the sudden loss of 560MW and causing a slump in frequency on the network. What happened next has stunned electricity industry insiders and given food for thought over the near to medium term future of the grid, such was the rapid response of the Tesla big battery to an event that happened nearly 1,000km away. Even before the Loy Yang A unit had finished tripping, the 100MW/129MWh had responded, injecting 7.3MW into the network to help arrest a slump in frequency that had fallen below 49.80Hertz.

Comments

Exaggerating impact just a little?

[CrAlt]

560 > 7.3.

Who cares if it beat the other large plant at responding by a few seconds. They "arrested" the slump about as well as tossing a bucket of water on a forest fire. It was another large plant that actually fixed the slump. The Gladstone coal generator in Queensland.

Look at how they try to overplay the impact with the 2nd output chart. The scale for the coal plant is 0-600MW. The Tesla pant is 0-9MW. Compare them on the same scale and the tesla plant would barely be a bump on that chart.

The UPS in my home can respond quicker in then giant mechanical 600MW power pant. Doesn't mean it's any good at propping up a power grid.

I also really doubt anyone in the industry is "stunned" a small solid state battery plant could respond quicker then a massive turbine that needs to wind up to adjust its output.

If the Tesla plant respond in some unexpected or surprising way then there is a problem.

The Tesla technology is amazing but this story is ridiculous.