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South Australia, Tesla Building Massive Virtual Power Plant

At least 50,000 home solar and battery systems will be installed, forming a virtual power plant capable of meeting around 20 percent of the state's energy needs.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Tesla has teamed with the South Australian government to build what they're saying will be the "world's largest virtual power plant."

As part of this plan, at least 50,000 home solar and battery systems will be installed across South Australia, forming a 250MW/650MWh virtual power plant capable of meeting around 20 percent of the state's energy needs.

"A virtual power plant is created by a network of home solar … and battery systems all working together to generate, store and feed energy back into the grid," the South Australian government explained Sunday. "Instead of being in one location, the systems are spread over thousands of houses."

During the initial trial phase, 5kW solar panel systems and 13.5kWh Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries will be installed at 1,100 public housing properties for free. Then, another 24,000 public properties will be hooked up, before a similar deal is offered to all South Australian households.

The idea is to hook up at least 50,000 households over the next four years.

Energy from the home solar and battery systems will power the houses on which they are installed. Any excess energy that is generated by the system will go back to the grid.

"This dispatched energy will be centrally controlled to meet the needs of the grid, providing additional energy to the rest of the state, when it is required," the government explained. The virtual power plant is expected to reduce participating households' energy bills by around 30 percent.

This new renewable energy project comes after Tesla partnered with South Australian government last year to build the "world's largest lithium-ion battery," which provides enough power for more than 30,000 homes. They embarked on that project following a major blackout in September 2016 they left 1.7 million South Australians without electricity. The new virtual power plant is expected to be about 2.5 times the size of that project.

In the US, meanwhile, Tesla is partnering with Home Depot to sell its Powerwall and Solar Roof products directly to consumers, ExtremeTech reports.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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