Tesla activates world's Largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia

[jonovid]

Elon Musk made good on his promise to build the world's largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia.
Tesla Power packs will be able to store 129-megawatt hours.
Hornsdale windfarm near Jamestown in the state's mid north 
100MW/129MWh battery  if used at full capacity, it would be able to provide its maximum output for more than an hour.
the battery is a modular network, with each powerpack about the size of a large fridge
at 2.1 metres tall, 1.3m long and 0.8m wide. They weigh in at 1,200 kilograms each.
need to keep South Australia's grid frequency stable. the battery would primarily provide stability for the power grid,
something traditionally the domain of coal, gas and hydro,  rather than wind or solar.
economics-  inverters real-world AC-AC round trip efficiency of 87% ?   Tesla PowerWall batteries are quoted as 92% efficiency.
technology of the Tesla Powerpack
the individual cylinder or cell is called the 2170 cell, the fundamental building block of the Tesla battery,
 – 21 mm by 70 mm.  it can store a lot more energy. according to Elon Musk,
it’s “the highest energy density cell in the world, and also the cheapest.” The 2170 cell is around 50% larger by volume than the 18650,
but it can deliver almost double the current (the 18650 delivers 3,000 mA, and the 2170 has been tested at 5,750-6,000 mA).
each Tesla Powerpack has 16 layers of batteries inside, and those battery pods, as the company calls them, contain cells.
made in an enormous Tesla facility in Nevada USA called the Gigafactory.
Tesla uses proprietary technology for packaging and cooling the 2170 cells in packs with liquid coolant.
operating temp. ?22 to 122 °F (?30 to 50 °C)
reliability ?   estimated Powerpack life ?
the estimated known life of a lithium-Ion phone battery is about two to three years or 300 to 500 charge cycles. however the
full technological specifications of the Tesla modular network - unknown and or trade secret ?  the only information available.


the individual cylinder or cell is called the 2170 cell, the fundamental building block of the Tesla battery,

Tesla's 18650 cells vs 2170  promotional video

[Twoflower]

...and as it seems it did already saved the day for the Aussies:
Tesla big battery outsmarts lumbering coal units after Loy Yang trips

[IanMacdonald]

...and as it seems it did already saved the day for the Aussies:
Tesla big battery outsmarts lumbering coal units after Loy Yang trips

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.

Um.. is this propaganda... or... propaganda? 

[Twoflower]

I don't see a reason why this isn't true. There's nowhere written that the battery completely replaced the 560MW. The text says the loss was from 364MW to 176MW. So the coal-burner wasn't running at 100% (that would be 560MW). And it did not lose 100%, but about 50% (one of two operating generators?). So the missing energy was about 170MW.

But as you noticed: It supplied 'only' about 8.5MW peak. I only can guess here: As no power was officially was requested it only tried to keep the grid above a frequency limit.

And I have to admit that I skipped the last paragraph or it was edited in later as there was an update of the article:

And no, we never suggested this averted a blackout. The point of the story was what Tesla could do. Now, imagine if there was actually a proper market (fast frequency control) for this stuff.

[SiliconWizard]

Am I the only one who fails to see why it would be a good idea?

The Li-ion technology still has its quirks, like a pretty limited number of recharge cycles, and is inherently unsafe. Plus, it contains materials that are not exactly renewable and kinda hard to recycle? And I guess manufacturing those batteries is also rather polluting.

Additionally, by grabing important quantities of Lithium for these gigantic battery farms, it will inevitably accelerate the overall consumption of Lithium and additionally most likely make Li-ion batteries' (which are pretty much used in every mobile device) prices skyrocket? (This problem being already latent with the rise of electric vehicles...)

What do you guys think?

[Neilm]

The Li-ion technology still has its quirks, like a pretty limited number of recharge cycles, and is inherently unsafe. Plus, it contains materials that are not exactly renewable and kinda hard to recycle? And I guess manufacturing those batteries is also rather polluting.

Recharge cycles depend on the battery technology. People have done calculations on Tesla cars and are saying they only lose about 1% per year assuming they have not been abused (charged fast, over charged, over discharged etc). Also, it is possible to recycle the parts in a battery. The part that degrades tends to be the insulator with small growths called dendrites forming in it. As for pollution during manufacture - it depends who you belive.

Additionally, by grabing important quantities of Lithium for these gigantic battery farms, it will inevitably accelerate the overall consumption of Lithium and additionally most likely make Li-ion batteries' (which are pretty much used in every mobile device) prices skyrocket? (This problem being already latent with the rise of electric vehicles...)

Encourages alternative battery technologies