World's biggest battery to be built at KURRI KURRI.

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Originally Posted by AK83

Yes!
And this is potentially the main problem.

I think it would be appropriate to see full transparency of what investments the 'decision makers' have in their personal portfolios .. and do their decisions affect these investment portfolios in any way.

Maybe I'm just a bit cynical as to why these folks that supposedly know what they're doing, do these things that really don't make any sense.

Lithium battery for main power storage is simply stupid for a sustainable future.

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It's private investment - so it's really an issue for them.

FWIW, I'd expect that they're storing cheap power (renewables are extremely cheap) so that they can supply the grid when AEMO requires extra and they can get $$$$ per kWh at spot prices.

FYI, that's why Snowy Hydro - which a couple of years ago was considered a basket case - has been so profitable (because if power is needed they just let water through the generators: no spool up time cf a coal-fired plant).

The industrialized, developed, civilised(?) world is spending huge amounts of money to develop fusion power, Australia is relying on the energizer bunny. Now there's a subsidy to encourage us to install solar which as far as I know all comes from overseas.
Would it be possible to use said subsidy to encourage Australia to manufacture solar panels?

Just saying!

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Originally Posted by jspyle

Would it be possible to use said subsidy to encourage Australia to manufacture solar panels?

Just saying!

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There are at least 3 companies manufacturing solar panels in Australia.

I know very little more than that, like whether they are Australian owned companies or what ever.

Someone else might be able to shine some light on these companies.

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Originally Posted by drivesafe

There are at least 3 companies manufacturing solar panels in Australia.

I know very little more than that, like whether they are Australian owned companies or what ever.

Someone else might be able to shine some light on these companies.

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I believe there is only Tindo, who claim to be Australia's only solar panel manufacturer, whom buy there pv cells from Korea from memory, and other parts from china.

Thanks Tim, may I call you Tim, and Vern, may I call you Vern, as usual my comments and research are inversely proportional to my cab sav intake.

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Originally Posted by Arapiles

Where did anyone say that it was generating electricity?

The role of the batteries isn't to power an entire State, it's to smooth out generation and demand.

FYI, there's some pretty serious people behind that battery - ex-AEMO, ex- Macquarie Bank - and I'd presume that they know what they're doing.

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Serious indeed! But...remember, at Macbank 'everything' has a price. No doubt they've done their homework and estimated the gift horse "social" $$$ on offer from the Federal govt.., and are betting on massive capital gains when the time is "right"... there's no altruism for 'saving the planet' in this play. It's a business opportunity pure and simple....
China and India for example are bringing on stream new High Efficiency-Low Emission coal fired power generation equivalent to Australia's total coal fired output every 6 months! The most widely used process for refining Lithium is one of the most toxic -emission/byproduct processes in all industry. China has a monopoly on lithium processing and is now struggling to contain the damage from hitherto uncontrolled lithium processing... this story has a long way to run yet ...
A piece of trivia: Kg for Kg the energy output of real-time power availability from burning coal in a high efficient/low emission process is 25 times greater than 1 kg of lithium battery storage....

How steel may kick its coal habit
Steelmakers worldwide are facing mounting pressure from government regulators and consumers to decarbonize operations. Doing so is essential to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and staving off most of the worst effects of climate change, experts say. In recent months, the world’s three top producers—Europe’s ArcelorMittal, China’s Baowu Steel, and Japan’s Nippon Steel—committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, echoing targets set in their home countries.
But in order to curb steel’s carbon emissions, the sector will have to transform how the material is traditionally made.

Outside Boston, in the industrial suburb of Woburn, one company is working to replace coal with electrons. Boston Metal, an outfit spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, uses electric currents to heat iron ore into a bright orange-white liquid, which converts into metal and cools as gray steel blocks. The process doesn’t create greenhouse gas emissions, and when powered with renewable electricity, can be completely emissions-free.




How Steel Might Finally Kick Its Coal Habit | WIRED

It will be great if the pilot plant works.

Already Direct Reduction steel making has been in existence for many years which is a "half way House" but AFAIR it depends on significant amounts of scrap steel to be included in the second process where the sponge iron is converted to steel.
BHP were also involved in building a Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant in the Pilbara which was the design of the CSIRO , but it didn't work on a large scale.
Regards PhilipA

$2.4b Port Hedland BHP plant to be demolished - ABC News

Ouch!

Interestingly as I went past the Cullerin range wind farm over the weekend a significant number of turbines on both sides of the road were shut down. A big battery would at least make more use of the generation capability that is wasted in times of low demand.

Regards,
Tote

I see BHP is one of the major investors in Boston Metal. The Port Hedland plant shut down in 2004. This is 2021.

January 11, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boston Metal today announced it raised $50 million in Series B funding, positioning the company to accelerate industrial-scale deployments of its molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology towards emissions-free steel. The financing was led by Piva Capital, BHP Ventures, and Devonshire Investors, the private investment firm affiliated with FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, OGCI Climate Investments, and The Engine also participated in the round, reflecting strong ongoing support for the company and its recent progress






Boston Metal Raises $50 Million to Decarbonize Steelmaking | Business Wire