First Tesla Powerpack Installed For West Australia's Virtual Power Plants In Goldfields Region

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A Tesla Powerpack was recently installed in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, located in the Goldfields region of West Austalia. It was the first of at least 10 Tesla battery storage systems that will be installed in the Goldfields region this year. 

The Tesla Powerpack was installed to support Kalgoorlie's growing number of solar roof and "other grid-connected" resources. Western Australia (WA) has been leading the country in the adoption of solar roof installments, with 1 in every 3 households generating power from renewable systems. As a result, green energy provides up to 45% of WA's power demand.  

According to One Step Off The Grid, Tesla Powerpacks could also help the region manage its renewable energy sources better, making the grid more reliable. Based on an article by ABC, Western Australia appeared to be dealing with an issue seen in the Duck Curve in the past. A Duck Curve refers to a graph depicting the imbalance between renewable energy production and demand. 

Tesla’s Million Mile Battery & Autobidder Are Keys To Achieving Elon Musk’s Ultimate Goal In His Master Plan https://t.co/5soDu3T8dG pic.twitter.com/S4BHYGXUxI

— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) May 21, 2020

In a nutshell, WA households turned to solar systems to meet their demands for power when coal-powered plants weren't providing enough energy to the grid. However, solar systems can often generate more power than needed during peak hours of the day and not enough power at night. Battery storage systems, like Tesla Powerpacks, solve this issue by storing the extra energy gathered during the day and making them available at night. 

The Tesla Powerpacks in the Goldfields region would connect a number of households with renewable energy systems installed, making a virtual power plant (VPP). In Kalgoorlie-Boulder's case, 50 households will be recruited by Synergy and Western Power--private and government-run electricity providers in WA, respectively--to make up the VPP, which will store up to 8kWh of excess renewable energy a day in the recently installed Powerpack. 

Tesla Energy's Autobidder Will Be A Game Changer For Grid-Scale Battery Systems https://t.co/9y37l5Acus pic.twitter.com/IuiOox3qMn

— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) May 4, 2020

The VPP in Kalgoorlie-Boulder would essentially provide everyone on the grid with power generated from those households, supporting the coal-powered plant when needed. The same setup may be expected for the other 9 Tesla Powerpack systems that will be installed in Goldfields region. 

However, to make a VPP more efficient, someone or something should manage the intake and output of energy to and from the grid. For this purpose, Tesla created Autobidder, which will probably help communities in the Goldfields region manage and distribute the energy stored in the Powerpacks.