The big Tesla battery in South Australia is consistently working to serve the peak energy demand each day, taking the “straw off the camel’s back,” according to the Australia Institute’s latest national energy emissions audit.

The report also finds emissions from the National Electricity Market [NEM] continued to drop in January, falling to their lowest levels since 2004, driven by the federal large-scale renewable energy target, according to The Guardian.

Energy expert Hugh Saddler examined the consumption and output of electricity of the Hornsdale Power Reserve, analysing the patterns of charging and discharging of the Tesla battery,

He found a consistent pattern of the battery charging overnight when wind generation was abundant and cheap, and discharging into the grid during the late afternoon when demand and spot market prices reached peak levels.

Only 30% of the battery’s 100MW capacity was devoted to this sort of trading, with the rest spent stabilising the energy system by maintaining the frequency of the grid at the required 50 Hz and 240 volts.