• Updated 1 hr ago

Mike Cannon-Brookes says battery bidding war is welcome

Mike Cannon-Brookes: "This would be a world first technology, un-replicated anywhere else, and will put South Australia ...
Mike Cannon-Brookes: "This would be a world first technology, un-replicated anywhere else, and will put South Australia on the map." Les Hewitt
by Ben Potter

Mike Cannon-Brookes has welcomed the bidding war over who might build the battery farms to save South Australia's power grid.

Mr Cannon-Brookes and Tesla's Elon Musk sparked the war last week when they offered to build a $100 million 100MWh battery farm in 100 days.

Mr Musk spoke to SA premier Jay Weatherill and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the weekend, and Mr Cannon-Brookes said it had been an "incredible 48 hours".

"It's evident that there is popular support for an alternative approach to solving the nation's electricity challenges," the Atlassian co-founder said in a statement.

"The idea of using storage to time shift renewable energy rather than further investing in fossil fuels is huge.

"This would be a world first technology, un-replicated anywhere else, and will put South Australia on the map.

"This stuff is space age. It's mind blowing to think that approaching the problem with forward thinking techniques - using technology and innovation - could be a (relatively) speedy solution for South Australia, improving thousands of people's lives.

Mr Cannon-Brookes said it was inspiring to see when "Aussies come together using our collective ingenuity and smarts, we can make sh*t happen".

"I've been working hard over the weekend figuring things out and understanding the complexities of the situation: does it solve the problem; is it economically viable; what are the other blockers? I'm excited to see what unfolds this week."

The SA government is due to release its energy plan this week, possibly on Wednesday, the same day the prime minister will meet with gas company chief executives in Canberra.

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