Infigen’s Lake Bonney Battery nearly complete and ready to power Tesla electric vehicles
South Australia will put the wind up Tesla – thanks to Lake Bonney, where wind farms have been backed by the state’s latest big battery.
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South Australia’s newest grid-scale battery — at Lake Bonney in the state’s South-East — has not only been built by Tesla but will help power their electric vehicles .
Owner Infigen Energy has been test-running the battery over the past few months, including during periods when electricity prices have spiked.
The battery, located alongside the Lake Bonney wind farms, is nearing commercial completion.
“The Lake Bonney Battery allows us to grow the volume of renewable energy we sell to commercial and industrial customers,” Infigen director of finance Sylvia Wiggins said.
Ms Wiggins on Tuesday hosted a site visit by Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan to see the 25MW/52MWh battery’s progress.
Mr van Holst Pellekaan said the battery, built by Tesla, was a valuable addition to the market and had supported 430 jobs during construction.
Tesla would also be a customer for the power from Infigen.
“Tesla is one of the new commercial customers supported by Infigen’s expansion into the SA retail electricity market,” Mr van Holst Pellekaan said.
“Infigen was recently awarded a retail contract to supply Tesla fast-charging supercharger stations with energy across Australia.
“Not only will the Lake Bonney Battery use Tesla batteries to store energy, it will also allow Infigen to fuel electric cars at Tesla Superchargers across Australia.”
The $38 million battery was supported by $5 million grants from the SA and the federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
The Lake Bonney Battery is the third grid-scale project in SA, following the Neoen Hornsdale Power Reserve Big Battery at Jamestown and the Dalrymple battery project on the Yorke Peninsula by ElectraNet and AGL.