Back to black? Australia industry prepares for possible blackouts - lithium ion battery cells
Some of Australia's biggest power users, including mining giant BHP Billiton, are taking steps to curb the impact of the severe power outage that happened again last summer, fearing a growing reliance on wind power and the grid of old coal. fired plants. Their back-
Although the national energy market operators guarantee that they have accumulated enough power reserves, the strategy is still coming --
Including the world's largest lithium-ion battery built by Tesla
In addition to the most unexpected situation, we have to get through all the difficulties.
Australia's summer is expected to be hotter from Friday --than-
It is normal in the southeast of the country and has helped to double the wholesale price of electricity --
Independent States in South Australia have nearly $170 (109 euros) per megawatt hour (MWh ).
This triggered the ghost of another power outage in South Australia and New South Wales in last February, and if the family starts the air conditioner while the wind is weakening or extremely hot, it will lead to aging coal-fired plant.
The threat prompted global miners BHP Billiton to install 30 MW of diesel power at its Olympic Dam copper mine in South Australia. Last year, in a state --
A wide range of power outages cost $105 (89 euros ).
"It doesn't give us the ability to run at normal levels.
"It's really just insurance against any loss of assets," Olympic Dam president Jacqui McGill told reporters this week . ".
Meanwhile, Alcoa, which operates Portland aluminum smelters in Victoria, is taking a different strategy, proposing to limit its power use for an hour during peak hours
Spokesman Judy Reid said.
The company's Portland smelter recently returned to work nearly 300,000 tons a year ago
Fatal power failure
Elsewhere, Tomago Aluminum smelters in New South Wales will be vulnerable if they face a long heat wave in both Victoria and South Australia.
"If the power goes off for more than three hours, our potline [a row of electrolytic batteries used in the production of aluminum] will freeze and cannot be thawed.
This is a disastrous loss, "said Matthew Howell, chief executive of Tomago Aluminium owned by Rio Tinto, CSR and Norsk Hydro.
Unlike Alcoa, Tomago has proposed that potline for aluminum manufacturing will be closed only if market operators face state regulationwide blackout.
"As a last resort, you want to interrupt the loading of the potline.
You don't want to treat it as a game. an-arbitrage-with-your-energy-
Howell told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Audrey Zibelman, chief executive officer of the Australian Energy Market Operator, said that given steps such as pumping up gas, the power outage was "very, very low"
After retirement, Tesla battery launched in South Australia on Friday and launched a $70 (45 euro) plan to pay some power users to curb their needs.
An independent analyst said there was little chance of a power outage this year, but added that the risk remained.
"I don't know what the odds are for three children --
This summer, there was an hour of power outage in New South Wales, but this is certainly not zero, "said David ledge, energy analyst at ITK Services Australia.
"But my bottom line is that over the past few months, I 've become more and more convinced that this is less likely to happen than before.