South Australia backs battery vision in $550m energy plan

Australian manufacturers who rely on gas say there is no guarantee the Government's plan to shore up supply will make the fuel more affordable.
"It is less clear how much these initiatives will help with SA's other energy crisis, affordability", said AIG chief excecutive Innes Willox". Unlike the storage aspect, the plant will take some time to build, so the Government will work with South Australia's transmission and distribution companies to provide up to 200 megawatts of temporary generation.
Turnbull's intervention comes less than a month after he blamed state Labor governments' renewable energy targets for rising prices, blackouts and energy shortages.
"The worst example is Victoria", he said in reference to that state's government last week saying Parliament passed legislation that banned all onshore unconventional gas development in the state and extended a moratorium on onshore conventional gas development until 2020.
"New dispatchable renewable generation will be fundamental to the future grid, and large-scale battery storage will be an integral part - the ideal complement to the diverse generation mix that South Australia already has, and that the rest of the electricity market is heading towards", Mr Lombard said.
BHP Billiton has been vocal about South Australia's power problems since widespread outages in September and October a year ago saw the local Olympic Dam site without electricity for just over two weeks.
The plan is expected to create at least 630 new jobs.
The state government will use its bulk-buying power to attract new electricity generation to increase competition and put downward pressure on prices.
Carnegie is one of a number of companies interested in South Australia's plan to add energy storage.
The spot price of wholesale gas in Australia has tripled in the last two years, according to a February report from the Australian Industry Group.
"South Australia will now lead our nation's transformation to the next generation of renewable storage technologies and create an worldwide reputation for high-tech industries".
By the close of the decade, Australia's 10 LNG plants, including eight new post-2010 megaprojects, are set to accelerate the country onto the front row grid as the world's No.1 LNG exporter.
The South Australian Liberal party has not responded to the plan yet.
"The considerable powers we have we would never shirk from using in the national interest".
The prime minister said he made it clear the government would not shy away from "any measures required" to ensure the domestic market is well-supplied.
As part of this effort, Victoria is now seeking bids for the deployment of 100MW of storage capacity from technologies including batteries, pumped hydro or solar thermal, by 2018.
Mr Weatherill said he would examine the offer.
The Andrews Government is also urging the Federal Government to kick in a few bob; well, more than a few.
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