South Australia soon could have a full-blown energy crisis on its hands. Not, however, if Tesla CEO Elon Musk has anything to say about it.
In September, a state-wide blackout in South Australia occurred after storms caused a transmission failure, according to Automotive News. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull blamed the blackouts on South Australia’s heavy reliance on both solar and wind power, which account for roughly 40 percent of the state’s power generation. Renewable energy is controversial in Australia, with the coalition government aiming to reduce its usage of solar and wind by 2020.
Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack products, however, might be just what South Australia needs. In a Twitter conversation Thursday with Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, Musk bet he could get the systems up and running within 100 days, although Cannon-Brookes might want Musk to go slightly over his target.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill insists the blackouts were caused by weather, rather than reliance on solar and wind, according to Automotive News. In a Twitter post Friday, however, Weatherill said he’s “looking forward” to discussing Musk’s proposal.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Heisenberg Media
