Months ago I learned about Elon Musk’s work in the future changing Gigafactory, the largest lithium-ion battery factory in the world.
What is the Gigafactory?
Tesla's Gigafactory 1
This one factory is singularly changing the energy industry, revolutionizing lithium-ion production by slashing production costs and stretching battery output and efficiency through optimization enabled by truly massive production. The factory is so large and it’s production so significant that Musk stated:
“We actually did the calculations to figure out what it would take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy. You’d need 100 Gigafactories.”
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-100-tesla-gigafactories-could-power-entire-world/
But exactly how big is this factory you ask?
- The factory rests on 3,000 acres of land
- The factory currently stretches about 6 million square feet, or the equivalent of 126 acres.
- Musk said: "The Gigafactory, when it's complete, will have the biggest footprint of any building in the world. Counting multiple levels it could be as much as 15 million square feet"
http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-gigafactory-facts-2016-9
When Musk does something he goes all in.
That is why when he promised to supply South Australia with sustainable solar power and the world’s largest lithium-ion battery within 100 days or it would be free, a $50,000,000 bet and promise, we could hardly be surprised.
South Australia Power Crisis:
South Australia, home to 1.677 million people, famously experienced repeated, massive blackouts in late 2016.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Australian_blackout
The blackouts were in part a result of tornados ravaging their existing power grid on September 28, 2016, which according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) caused damage to the wind farm grid, which once damaged saw a marked reduction in power output. Then the drop in output, as I understand it, put excessive pressure on the remaining grid and that triggered safety protocols which ultimately led to total state-wide blackout. The issue is complicated and what little I know I learned from the following source, if you want to know more check it out:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-28/wind-farm-settings-to-blame-for-sa-blackout-aemo-says/8389920
Musk’s Gigafactory to the Rescue:
Following the event, Elon Musk began talks with the South Australian (SA) government to produce, deliver and install the world’s largest lithium-ion battery to complement the SA grid by enabling storage of their intermittent power production during off-peak times for use during peak-times.
The project and promise was not just a meaningful step forward in sustainable energy for South Australia, but major move forward in green energy for the entire planet because it will be seen by the world as an indicator that battery tech is a viable complement to standard power grids today. Musk said: “this system will be three times more powerful than any system on Earth, this is not a minor foray into the frontier, and this is three times further than anyone has gone before.”
Not only is this a really monumental achievement for the Gigafactory but it’s made much more interesting by the expectations and time sensitivity because Musk famously “insisted in writing in doing the contract that we be held to the 100 days or its free”.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-07/elon-musk-announces-worlds-biggest-battery/8688296
Conclusion:
It is hard to overstate how meaningful this delivery is. The world is watching and nations will see in this event that a new viable opportunity for at the least complementing the existing power grids of the world, and perhaps better yet, they might see a grand vision for global green energy which could better our planet by lowering harmful chemical emissions.
Kauai Solar Farm
We have seen the island of Kauai, Hawaii, recently partnered with Musk to design and install a solar power plant backed by a 52 MW Tesla lithium-ion farm.
Overnight this replaced the island’s previous primary power source which was burning diesel they shipped in daily!
https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/8/14854858/tesla-solar-hawaii-kauai-kiuc-powerpack-battery-generator
Or there is California, which recently received 396 refrigerator sized Tesla batteries meant to complement the existing system by storing energy in off-peak times for use later.
The New York Times said of this project:
The installation, capable of powering roughly 15,000 homes over four hours, is part of an emergency response to projected energy shortages stemming from a huge leak at a natural gas storage facility.
The project, which officially came online Monday but began operating at the end of last year, is an important and surprising demonstration of how utilities can use enormous collections of batteries in place of conventional power plants.
It is also an indication of how rapidly Tesla is moving to transform itself from a maker of luxury electric cars into a multifaceted clean-energy company.
“I had relatively limited expectations for the battery industry in advance of 2020,” said Michael J. Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. “I thought that it would not really accelerate and begin to penetrate the electric grid or the transportation world for a while to come. Once again, technology is clearly moving faster than we can regulate.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/business/energy-environment/battery-storage-tesla-california.html
Tesla, Boring, Space-X, and Gigafactory are all examples of how Elon Musk is changing our world and our future, today. I am excited by his efforts and I think you should be too.
Hope you enjoyed this, it took a long time. If so I always appreciate your up-vote, comments and if you want to see more like this follow me.
Have an awesome day.
Blessings.