UNEP’s Climate action Network reported February 5 that the state government of South Australia has partnered with Tesla to roll out a network of at least 50,000 home solar and battery systems, with a view to what it says will be the world’s largest virtual solar plant.
Each participating household will be equipped with a 5KW solar panel installation and a 13 kWh Powerwall 2 storage system. In total, the virtual power plant will have an installed capacity of 250 megawatts and 650 MWh of storage. The project would be about 3 times the size of the rest of similar plants around the world.
A virtual power plant works by taking a large number of solar panels on individual households and integrating them for the benefit of these consumers to lower the cost of their electricity. The 250 MW added capacity to the system is expected to improve competition across the market and generate savings of $190 million for all consumers whether they participate to the project or not, according to an analysis by Frontier Economics, a European consultancy specializing in microeconomics.
For the households participating in the project, the virtual plant is anticipated to reduce their energy bills by 30 percent.
The project will cost roughly $800 million. For the initial phase, the government of South Australia will provide a $2 million grant and a further $30 million as a loan while it seeks additional investors, Climate Action reports.