Giant Tesla Megapack project is turned on after fire setback

A giant Tesla Megapack project operated by Neoen in Australia has finally been turned on after a fire set back the battery system this summer.

Tesla’s energy storage products have been particularly popular in Australia, where the electric grid is in great need of stabilization.

Its famous “Tesla Big Battery” in partnership with Neoen in South Australia has had a tremendous success that other states are trying to replicate.

It has been credited with accelerating the utility-scale deployment of energy storage around the world.

Neoen obtained a new contract to deploy a giant 300 MW/450 MWh battery system using Tesla Megapack in Victoria.

Shortly after the installation was completed last summer, one of the Tesla Megapacks caught on fire.

It delayed the project’s activation, and the giant battery system stayed dormant for the second half of the year.

Neoen later issued a report tracing back the cause of the fire to an undetected coolant leak during an initial test after completing installation.

The French company said that Tesla verified the other Megapacks to make sure the problem wouldn’t happen again.

Today, Neoen announced that it is officially turning on the system after making sure the fire risk is behind it:

Neoen, one of the world’s leading producers of exclusively renewable energy, has taken less than one year to build and start operating its 300 MW / 450 MWh Victorian Big Battery, one of the largest batteries in the world. The battery storage facility is located next to Moorabool Terminal Station in Geelong, Victoria. It was delivered in collaboration with Tesla, deploying its Megapack technology, and network partner AusNet Services.

It is one of the world’s biggest battery systems and one of the biggest Megapack deployments.

It is going to provide grid services to the state of Victoria, and Neoen believes there will be a great return on investment for the ratepayers:

The Victorian Big Battery will contribute to the modernisation of the Victorian electricity network and will be instrumental in helping the State reach its target of 50% renewables by 2030. Independent analysis predicts that for every $1 invested the battery will deliver $2.40 in benefits to Victorian households and businesses.

Recently, Tesla has been deploying energy storage systems at a rate of over 1.2 GWh per quarter, and that is expected to increase significantly over the next few years as more battery cell supply becomes available.

Tesla also recently broke ground on a new “Megafactory” to build Megapacks.

They aim to produce as much as 40 GWh of Megapacks per year at the new factory.