This makes the news mainly because of the novelty. Not many "big batteries" out there, and even fewer such fires. So when one happens it's news. The second "lesser" reason is because it could be a sign of things to come. We're far more familiar with the pitfalls of tech we've been developing for a century. With batteries I'm sure we're still discovering operational aspects that were not considered or not given enough attention.
I haven't read the actual study, but this write-up helped me understand the climate change denial phenomenon more clearly. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-apes/202012/...
That is not so unusual for underground coal fires. They can be all but impossible to put out. It has been a phenomenon basically forever [0]. I assume a lot of the modern ones are linked to mining activity, but they do turn up naturally from time to time.
I would advise people not to build on top of a known coal seam fire.
There is a fossil fuel shutdown denial phenomenon. Companies want to keep making profits and consumers want cheap energy. It's not very surprising.
I personally have no idea the numbers, but i'd argue that lithium batteries have alot more explosive potential than your average powerstation fire...curious if anyone can compare energy density here
Also, this type of smoke is awful. Anyone living in San Diego East of the 5 last year can probably remember how bad the Navy ship fire was compared to normal forest fire smoke.
Bathtub curve, anyone?
Still I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have the individual units stand so close to each other, in the pictures it looks rather tight when you consider possible fires.
It's a good opportunity to test whether it's too tight, too.
At that point you can just have a dashboard with "percentage of fleet offline due to fire damage", and in your annual maintanance you replace those.
I'd imagine regulations requiring better fire control may follow. Toxic plumes of smoke impacting residents for 100s of miles won't be acceptable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-30/tesla-battery-fire-mo...
That sounds frightening!
https://static-ffx-io.cdn.ampproject.org/ii/AW/s/static.ffx....
A fire I get but the lack of containment / control seems crazy
Megapack is a relatively new thing. Earlier Tesla utility-scale batteries including the one in South Australia were made of smaller modules called Powerpack (I don't remember their size). A Powerpack catching on fire will presumably release fewer toxins and stuff than a Megapack, simply through being smaller.
It looks like some effort went into stopping the fire in the burning Megapack from spreading into other modules. So the modularity doesn't automatically contain the fire all by itself, but it apparently helps.
More coverage from a Tesla battery stan:
https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-megapack-container-on-fire...
The correct solution, I’d argue, would be to set up the different public governmental departments how the different departments are set up at Amazon: they have a public interface at everything they do and they do it to a level that you could sell it to the outside. And then to give this job to the public.
[1] https://www.power-technology.com/news/neoen-to-build-300mw-b... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoen
The dirtiest part of lithium batteries is cobalt, which is being substantially reduced (or removed entirely) from lithium battery chemistries. Lithium itself is an abundant resource and is not especially dirty, at least when compared to many other raw materials. And there are prospects for future mines being much cleaner than in the past.
With sufficient investment, lithium batteries can be highly recyclable and it's feasible that within a couple of decades, nearly all the materials in new battery production could be recycled. And would be recycled because it would be cheaper (and thus more lucrative) than mining from earth.
It's also expecting to make a lot of revenue from frequency control which is a critical service in a grid relying more on renewables.
So yes this battery is going to be very effective at reducing carbon emissions in Victoria. As a similar battery did in South Australia.
That's not the fault of lithium-ion battery. Also, I think it is interesting that all of a sudden people care about the production of lithium and paint it as particularly detrimental to the environment when in fact they accept the same realities in every other resource they are using. Almost like they follow a stupid agenda propagated by a dying industry.
Edit: I'm not saying we shouldn't care about lithium production and it's effect on the environment. But things are improving drastically and the arguments I hear against lithium are always the same talking points the ICE-industry used to take on Tesla.
The reason I think that might be the case is because lithium-ion batteries seem to be on track to become pretty ubiquitous. It probably won't ever be equivalent to oil products, but it'll probably get far closer than most things. Yet it's still relatively early days. We're not at the point where fundamental change is impossible.
We're increasingly aware of all the problems with oil-products, but... not so much is happening about it. They are so fundamental to everything that major changes are exceedingly difficult and expensive.
With lithium-ion batteries we aren't there yet, but we're getting closer every day. If we put an outsized amount of attention on the problems now, we have a better shot at actually fixing them, as bigger changes are more feasible now than they ever will be in the future.
The solution to the harm inflicted upon the environment by humanity isn't some new feat of technology or invention, it's downshifting. In every field, not just in individual's private lives.
VC's, 'entrepreneurs' and green energy journalism seems to have a vested interest to in a sense consume 'green innovation' rather than just treating it as technology.
ICEs running on renewable fuel has localy observable emissions and are not sexy. The decommision of ICEs are way easier then EVs and the refeuling infrastructure simpler for liquids. It is a shame there is a look-in on EVs.
