Featured Image Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Big Battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve fed 150MW into the South Australian grid at 2:25 pm on Tuesday, July 21. It set a world record for output from a lithium-ion battery.

Besides power, the Hornsdale battery will also be delivering synthetic inertia and “grid-forming” capabilities to the local grid, according to Renew Economy. As such it would have the same responsibilities as gas and diesel generators in the local grid.

More Tesla Powerpacks was added to the Hornsdale battery, expanding it by 50%. The expansion started in November 2019 and was completed this year. Its full power is now 150MW/194MWh from 100MW/129MWh. Last month, the Hornsdale Battery Reserve was granted an electricity generator license by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia right after its completion.

The Hornsdale Power Reserve started final testing on the expanded battery in June. So Tesla’s Big Battery might not be running at its full capacity just yet. The Hornsdale battery has reduced costs to the main grid by AU$116 million.

Tesla Top Brass Take Serious Stand For Sustainability & EV Adoption In Australia https://t.co/YaCmrY2PSs pic.twitter.com/okEs9B6Iy1

— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) July 20, 2020

Its small victory may help Australian politicians see the potential in sustainable energy products and technology. Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm and Tesla Energy Director Mark Twidell have been doing their best to guide Australia’s push for a sustainable energy market and EV adoption.

"We have the opportunity of being a superpower in this renewable energy space because a lot of the components that go into an electric vehicle particularly on the battery side, we have here and most countries don't, we ship out the raw materials,” said Denholm during a talk with Behyad Jafari, the Chief Executive of the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia.

Meanwhile, Twidell signed and supported an open letter to The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council, urging the political body to prioritize the reform of Australia’s energy market.

Tesla Energy doesn’t usually get a lot of attention from investors and analysts a like. Most people don’t know how to evaluate the energy department’s contributions to Tesla. However, the global pandemic has shown government bodies around the world the advantages of sustainable energy and battery storage systems which could impact Tesla Energy’s future trajectory.