Tesla and South Australia at it again, this time building a virtual power plant

Enlarge / Sculpture-like solar panels near the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, SA, Australia. (credit: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Just a few months after Tesla completed the world's biggest lithium-ion battery installation outside of the Hornsdale wind farm in South Australia, the Australian state and the electric vehicle-slash-energy company look like they're ready to partner again.

This time, South Australia wants to build a 250MW virtual power plant. The plant will consist of thousands of solar panels and batteries running software that decides when the batteries charge and discharge to maximize efficiency and value to the grid.

The buildout will start with 1,100 public housing properties. Residents sign up if they're interested in the program, and a Tesla contractor comes out to the home and tries to outfit a solar and battery storage solution to the house in question.

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