At 10:15 a.m. local time on Friday, a Megapack battery unit caught fire near Moorabool in Victoria, Australia, causing an almost uncontrollable blaze. The cause of the fire is still unclear.
According to foreign media, more than 150 people from the Victorian Fire Brigade and National Fire Authority are involved in extinguishing the fire, which is expected to burn for 8 to 24 hours. Ian Beswicke, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at the National Fire Authority, said, “if we try to cool down the battery unit, it will only prolong the burning time.”
In November 2020, French renewable energy company Neoen signed a contract with the Victorian government and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), to use Tesla Megapacks energy storage systems and jointly develop the “Victorian Big Battery” project. The Tesla Megapack will deploy a 300 MW power and 450 MWh battery capacity system in Victoria, which can store intermittent renewable energy such as solar and wind power for future use when needed.
The Victorian government hopes that the Tesla Megapack system can help it achieve its target of 50% renewable energy by 2030. The project was originally planned to be put into use in the summer of 2021-2022. The system has just been installed, and is currently undergoing testing, but this fire accident occurred.
Fortunately, the fire has not affected other Megapacks. Louis de Sambucy, Managing Director of Neoen Australia, also confirmed that there were no casualties and the fire did not affect the region’s power supply. “Neoen and Tesla are working closely with the local emergency services to respond to this situation. The site has been disconnected from the grid and will not affect the power supply. We will release more detailed information later,” said Louis de Sambucy.Tesla has significant ambitions in the energy industry, from the previous Powerwall virtual power plant project in California, to the current Megapack “Victorian Big Battery” project. According to Tesla’s Q2 financial report, the demand for Powerwall and Megapack is immense, with the energy generation and storage business reaching a revenue of $801 million in Q2 2021, achieving comprehensive growth.
However, safety and stability remain the biggest obstacles that Tesla faces in the energy industry. If the safety and stability of the large-capacity Megapack battery pack cannot be ensured, there will be significant hidden dangers in its subsequent use and popularization. Although Tesla’s ideas and intentions are to develop the use of renewable energy, a recent fire accident can only make its CEO Elon Musk lament “Prometheus Unbound” on Twitter.
🔗Source: 7News
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.