最近的电费或燃气费账单，谁看了不震惊？电价如此大幅上涨，谁又不愤怒？我们这个国家资源如此丰富，如今却有些澳大利亚人甚至付不起做一顿简单饭菜所需的能源费用，这实在不合逻辑。与此同时，我们那些能言善辩却意见分裂的政客正匆忙采取行动。

今晚，才华横溢的美国亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克想解释他能如何帮助解决澳大利亚的能源危机。为了证明自己的观点，他准备拿出真金白银。现在是澳大利亚的用电高峰时段。我需要一个NOS预订。我不能，呃，他们想要留下记录。我们会弄清楚发生了什么。城镇和城市华灯初上。公共交通开始运转，千家万户也热闹起来。

在悉尼西部的一间控制室里，负责确保电力供应不断的Trans Grid公司员工守着电话忙碌。2号轮胎和3号轮胎135，从全州各地的发电机组调入电力。一半人口无论如何都在6:00吃晚饭，所以他们就这么做。另一半人天黑后才吃晚饭。但要维持澳大利亚庞大的东海岸电网运行，从未如此困难。

这很像转盘子，我们从一个问题转到另一个问题，实时解决电力系统中的问题，以确保不断电。而对这么多澳大利亚人来说，用电从未如此昂贵。人们靠……哦，是的，昨天的食物生活。哦，是的。是的。嗯，我晚些时候吃午饭时，吃的不会是昨天的，而会是星期一的……星期四。如今，澳大利亚正深陷电力危机，成本高得令人难以承受，供应也不可靠。

但有一个人无法理解为什么，因为澳大利亚其实非常适合发展太阳能，它既不过于偏北，也不过于偏南。整、整、整个国家都可以使用太阳能供电，或者采用风能、太阳能、呃、地热能和水力发电的某种组合。电动汽车制造商Tesla Motors的股价上涨。

埃隆·马斯克是Tesla的掌舵人。这位美国亿万富翁在电动汽车、升空飞行和太空火箭方面的发展，正以前所未有的方式推动技术突破边界。这一切都源于他的信念：如果我们要在气候变化中生存下来，就必须发展可再生能源。澳大利亚其实可以向亚洲出口电力。那里有如此多的土地，呃，以至于、以至于、以至于实际上足以为亚洲相当大的一部分地区供电。

为了证明自己的观点，马斯克正在南澳大利亚州詹姆斯敦建造一个由风力涡轮机供电的大型锂离子电池。该电池旨在帮助稳定电网。但马斯克也希望它能成为让全世界恍然大悟的时刻。你必须做这些真正能引起全世界关注的事情。否则，人们就是不会相信你。嗯，他们不认为这有可能实现。你希望世界其他地方看到什么？

我真的希望世界其他地方看到，你可以建成一个非常大规模的100兆瓦系统，它、它、它确实相当庞大。嗯，它比世界上第二大的电池大3倍。那、那是一次极其巨大的飞跃。他对我们的能源危机产生兴趣始于去年，当时已经在风能和太阳能领域投入重金的南澳大利亚州陷入一片黑暗。

这是一次造成全州断电的猛烈风暴所导致的结果。[音乐] 当澳大利亚IT奇才、同为亿万富翁的迈克·坎农-布鲁克斯质疑Tesla所夸下的海口，即可以通过建造世界最大电池来帮助解决南澳大利亚州的能源问题时，埃隆·马斯克一头扎进了全国性的政治争斗。你为什么那么做？当时完全不知道之后会发生什么。嗯，更多只是因为，如果人们作出那种重大承诺。

我想核实一下是不是真的。你以为我在开玩笑。嗯，因为我、我得和我的团队核实一下。就像，我、我希望我、我没有真的说出什么极其疯狂的话。当埃隆回复推文说：“是啊，你以为呢？”嗯，太棒了。只是确认他是否靠谱。你知道，他、他、他说这会实现。让我们让它实现。对吧。所以，嗯，这些都是公开推文。呃，是的。

不过从某种意义上说，那、那也正是锁定这项保证的一部分，对吧？他在那里的公开论坛上把自己的声誉放到网上，你知道，随后这件事引发了足够大的声势。足够多的人看到了那、那，于是情况就变成：好吧，那、那，你知道，他、他最好把这件事办成。[音乐] 坎农-布鲁克斯突击学习了一番可再生能源知识，很快便意识到有很多澳大利亚人支持这个想法。

我收到了多份主动和受邀提出的数千万美元报价。我想我们加起来收到的报价超过hund00百万美元。这、这太惊人了。作为一名澳大利亚人，看到人们想以切实而有意义的方式解决这个问题，嗯，这令人振奋。我认为他们只是厌倦了各方的政治斗争，也厌倦了这、你知道、这种荒谬的，呃，能源处境。

但埃隆·马斯克的电池计划遭到联邦政府嘲讽。这块大电池甚至无法让30,000户南澳大利亚家庭看完一集澳大利亚版《忍者勇士》。澳大利亚财政部长斯科特·莫里森尤其不屑。尽管去建世界最大的电池吧。也建世界最大的香蕉。建世界最大的对虾。我没意识到这里正进行着这么一场大战。

就像，我之前并不知道。就像M……好莱坞先生走进了城里。好吧。然后就像，嗯，你知道，我看到的是“莫莱坞”吗？也许吧，但、但我们的财政部长斯科特·莫里森宣称，这不过是个闪闪发亮的，你知道，转移注意力的东西，而且、而且它就像……嗯，它确实闪闪发亮。它确实闪闪发亮，而且它过去是……它、它就像大菠萝或大香蕉。就是那些媚俗玩意儿之一。我不确定什么……等等，那是真实存在的吗？

它们其实是旅游景点。哦，瞧我的……是类似世界最大香蕉之类的东西吗？差不多吧。嗯，你对此感到失望吗？哦，我想你知道，这种事我们一直都会遇到。嗯，有时确实会让人有点泄气。嗯，是的。是的，有时候。是的。政府为什么嘲讽埃隆·马斯克？嗯，埃隆·马斯克的电池，呃，规模只是雪山水电工程的一小部分。

杰伊·韦瑟里尔向南澳大利亚州民众宣称，这是解决他们困境的答案。但事实上，它只占该州实际需求的一小部分。[音乐] 在如今这场高风险的政治权力博弈中，任何人都可能成为攻击目标。电力供应，尤其是电力成本，一直在侵蚀联邦政府及其能源部长乔希·弗莱登伯格的支持。事实是，政治辜负了澳大利亚人，不是吗？

多年来，我们一直没能为澳大利亚人提供，嗯，一项基本服务。嗯，过去10年在CRA问题上的争吵并没有帮助降低电费。事实上，它造成了市场的不确定性，而现在行业要求消除这种不确定性。因此，国家能源保障计划为我们提供了10多年来的第一次机会。

国家能源保障计划旨在提高系统可靠性，并最终缓解全国民众的经济痛苦。但据预测，家庭节省的金额微乎其微。我们存在所谓的能源贫困。我看到有人说：“怎么会这样？你知道，我一周可能只能可怜巴巴地省下50美分，却还应该为此鼓掌吗？”嗯，那只是工党的障眼法和歪曲。难道这不是真的吗？

那不是真的。那么，他们能省多少？他们每年最多可节省115美元。当他们说，嗯，区区几百美元时，说真的，你已经脱离现实了。你会说，电费减少几百美元对很多人来说意义重大，而这只是我们计划采取的行动的开始。在工党执政下，你们的账单将增加数百美元。模型显示的就是这样。

我们不再允许工党推行意识形态主导的做法。你看，他们会讨厌这种政治操弄。他们会讨厌你这么说，因为这不过是更多政治斗争。嗯，现实是，政治就是理念之争。我们的理念是由专家提出的国家能源保障计划。它允许可再生能源发挥更大作用。它将煤炭和天然气保留在系统中。它弥补过去的错误。

更重要的是，它能降低电费。对布赖恩和FA·威莱特这样的养老金领取者而言，所有这些言论都没有太大意义。他们仍然不得不围绕电费账单安排生活。谢谢你，埃莉。谢谢。多数时候，这意味着饭菜很简单，也几乎不需要烹饪。今天吃的是一个面包卷，是从当地面包店抢救回来的剩余食品。我们需要做的一件事，就是确保把，嗯，窗帘拉上，因为……是的。把热气挡在外面。

把热气挡在外面。你生活中的一切都围绕着设法压低电费。是的。我以前从没真正这样想过，但没错，那、那、那大致就是事实。冬天你们怎么办？我们一次都没有使用暖气。呃，我们通常用毯子。嗯，穿两双袜子而不是一双，或者穿UGG靴。我想这些东西以前都是你们认为理所当然的。从某些方面来说，这感觉更像是在求生，而不是生活。

呃，随着年龄增长，生活却变得困难得多，这似乎很奇怪。[音乐] 澳大利亚人支付电费的压力比以往任何时候都大。加入困难援助计划或延期付款的家庭数量创下纪录。大多数州的断电率也大幅上升。对埃隆·马斯克而言，得知日益严重的能源贫困问题令他难以承受。电力成本几乎让它变成了一种奢侈品。哇。真的吗？

我之前没有意识到它贵到这种程度。澳大利亚拥有如此丰富的自然资源。是，我的意思是，即使走化石燃料路线，电力也应该非常便宜。如今有些澳大利亚人甚至不知道自己能不能开灯。如今有些澳大利亚人还在考虑，嗯，我们是不是应该少吃一些东西？当然。在、在，这实在不是你会预料到的事情。我没有料到。H，我们更加努力工作。

对马斯克而言，这令人沮丧，因为在他看来，解决办法非常简单，而且澳大利亚拥有丰富的相关资源。可再生能源的全部意义，就是营造更清洁的环境，坦率地说，也是拯救地球。绝大多数科学家都断言，我们正在目睹剧烈的气候变化。不全面拥抱可再生能源无异于自杀。[音乐] 我们必然会依靠可再生能源生活。问题只在于何时。

事实上，这、这、这、这就包含在定义里，嗯，如果、如果它不可再生，那就意味着它、它总有一天会耗尽，到时你只能在文明崩溃、嗯、我们步入黑暗时代，与寻找某种可再生能源之间作出选择。所以这一切都是为了，嗯，拯救我们自己。是的。现在开始。好的。现在钻孔。我们自家后院价值10亿美元的能源产业。就像隐藏的黄金，不是吗？

人们称它为新、新石油。以及如何大幅削减电费。就是这个。这就是电池。它确实会激励全世界。这是可以实现的。接下来请继续收看《60分钟》。[音乐] 当澳大利亚人为维持供电而苦苦挣扎时，一个价值10亿美元的能源产业就埋藏在我们自己的后院。锂离子电池及其储存可再生能源的能力，已经成为国际市场上的重磅畅销产品。

对澳大利亚来说，这是个大好消息。控制器现在已进入待发状态。如果你同时按住那两个发射按钮，别忘了抬头看，爆破就会启动。好的。现在引爆。干得好。嗯，莉兹，你刚才引爆的这些东西，3个月后就会运到中国。6个月后，它们就会进入电池。太不可思议了。所以，那、那、那是一声轰响。嗯，那是一次爆炸。那是一次爆炸。但这一切都是我认为可能会成为繁荣浪潮的一部分。

当我们的政客继续为最佳前进道路争吵不休时，许多投资者似乎已经决定了聪明钱该投向哪里。随着市场对锂离子电池产生无休止的需求，澳大利亚迎来了一轮新的采矿热潮。西澳大利亚州如今是世界最大的锂生产地。

这意味着，像玛丽安山这座矿场不仅在帮助满足绿色能源产业的巨大需求，也赚得盆满钵满。它的规模尚未达到铁矿石产业的水平，但锂产业正在创造新的财富，同时也催生出新一代采矿企业家。所以这就是最终产品。是的，它会先用卡车运输，然后装船运往中国。

克里斯·里德是Neo Metals的董事总经理，该公司在卡尔古利郊外拥有一座大型锂矿。澳大利亚锂矿产业的价值是多少？呃，目前这个财政年度西澳大利亚州的出口额，我们预测将超过10亿澳元。这就像挖到黄金了，不是吗？嗯，它……呃，人们称它为新、新石油。它确实如此，而且可能会取代石油。毫无疑问。

我的意思是，世界上一半的锂电池是、是在中国制造的。呃，一半的锂产品产自中国，主要使用澳大利亚的原料。对我们来说，下一步是在澳大利亚增加附加值，制造自己的电池。听着，我认为有一天，那、那当然可以实现。在你看来，这是一场电力革命。是的，当然，毫无疑问。而且真正的变化是电池的规格越来越大。

它们被装进手机、装进笔记本电脑，现在又被用于电动摩托车、呃、汽车，而现在我们正迈向最大规格，也就是、就是可再生能源储能。[音乐] 在美国内华达州，埃隆·马斯克拥有一座不断生产数千块锂电池的超级工厂，厂房还在持续扩建。这些电池不仅为他的电动汽车供电，也为家庭供电，而且已经在澳大利亚投入使用。那么，就是这个。

就是这个。这就是电池。充满电需要多长时间？呃，在阳光明媚的日子里，从、从0%电量开始充，可能需要几个小时。[音乐] 在南澳大利亚州索尔兹伯里，迈克尔和梅利莎·波尼参加了当地能源供应商的一项试验，安装电池来储存太阳能电池板产生的能源。

当一场导致该州大部分地区停电的风暴来袭时，他们家成为少数安然度过停电的家庭之一，这立刻让他们信服了。我想，直到我们回到家，我才意识到停电的影响有多大，而且，嗯，我想我们把邻居搞糊涂了，因为街上、街上只有我们家的灯亮着。迈克尔和梅利莎现在有一个1岁的儿子西奥，家庭成员增加意味着家用电器一直在使用。

冬天会更多地使用暖气，让，嗯，我们的宝宝，你知道，保持温暖。嗯，还要用烘干机，因为要洗的衣服多了很多，以及诸如此类的事情。还有，呃，用微波炉加热饭菜。是的，就是这样，你知道，我目前在休产假，没有工作。所以任何节省都有帮助。这对夫妇使用最新技术监控用电情况。

光是这个月，我们就赚了32美元，这有助于他们密切关注成本。你认为你们的成本减半了？毫无疑问。嗯，我想自从安装太阳能系统以来，我们现在应该已经省了数千美元。数千美元。嗯，我想你无法想象，如果没有那块电池会是什么样。哦，嗯，我们、我们在安装太阳能系统以前收到的电费账单超过1,000美元。

所以我只能想象，如果我们、如果我们当时没有咬牙下定决心、设法把问题扼杀在萌芽状态，现在那些账单会是什么样子。是的。能请你告诉我最新情况吗？尽管政府提出了新的能源政策，但对那些正为电费苦苦挣扎的澳大利亚人而言，眼下几乎不会有任何改变。随着夏季临近，Trans Grid首席执行官保罗·伊塔利亚诺及其员工也会密切关注供应情况。

因此，我们会出现由空调推动的夏季用电需求高峰。空调以及空调制冷是电力需求的最大驱动因素。那么，发生停电时，你会觉得自己失职了吗？是的。我们的职责就是确保不断电。这就是我们存在的意义。为了让客户保持凉爽，Transgrid将严重依赖煤炭。我们可以从两个地区远程运行它。

所以在星期二……但保罗·伊塔利亚诺认为，现在是时候认真处理我们的可再生能源选项了。我们拥有的太阳能、风能和波浪能数量令全世界羡慕。如果我们妥善配置电力系统，其中可再生能源的占比就能大幅提高。事实上，我们可以引领全球可再生能源工程。因此，你可以理解为什么人们觉得自己 duted。

我们正在遭遇停电，而且几乎无力支付电费。没有人会声称我们目前的做法称得上成功。你家有太阳能电池板吗？没有。你应该感到惭愧。这、这是一笔很大的投资，而且我目前还有，呃，其他优先事项，但当然，呃，我会定期查看自己的电费账单。嗯，你一定很震惊。是的。而且我、我，而且我们一直付得太多。

如果一切都按埃隆·马斯克的想法发展，全世界将完全由可再生能源供电，而他将殖民火星。他是一个着眼大局、拥有宏伟计划的人。但最终可能会证明，他对不起眼的锂电池的推动，是这场电力革命中意义更为重大的步骤之一。人们一直把你视为催化剂，是一个向大家展示“天哪，没有……还有另一条路”的人。是的。而那、那是一件很棒的事。

澳大利亚人应该、应该为澳大利亚拥有世界最大的电池而感到自豪。这相当了不起。嗯，而且它确实也会激励全世界，来、来告诉大家这是可以实现的。大家好，我是莉兹·海斯。感谢观看。若想及时了解《澳大利亚60分钟》的最新内容，请务必订阅我们的频道。

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Who hasn't been shocked by a recent electricity or gas bill? And who isn't infuriated that power prices have risen so sharply? In a country as abundant with resources as ours, it defies logic that now some Australians can't even pay for the energy to cook a simple meal. While our fasttalking but divided politicians scramble to act.

Tonight, Elon Musk, the American billionaire with the brilliant mind, wants to explain how he can help fix Australia's energy crisis. And to prove his point, he's prepared to put his money where his mouth is. It's peak hour in Australia. I need a NOS booking. I can't uh they want a record of it. And we'll find out what's happening. Towns and cities are lighting up. Public transport is on the move and family homes are coming to life.

Inside a control room in Sydney's west, staff from Trans Grid, the company charged with ensuring the lights stay on, work the phones. The number two tire and number three tire 135, calling in power from generators all over the state. Half the population has dinner at 6:00 irrespective. So they do it. The other half have it dinner when it gets dark. But keeping Australia's massive east coast power grid functioning has never been so hard.

It's a lot like spinning plates and we move from one to the other solving problems on the power system in real time to keep the lights on. And for so many Australians, power has never cost so much. People are living on Oh, yeah. Yesterday's food. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, when I have lunch later, it won't be yesterday's. It'll be Monday's Thursday. Today, Australia is in the grip of a power crisis, crippling costs, and unreliable supply.

But there's one man who can't understand why Australia is really perfect for for solar power because it's not too far north or too far south. You could have the the the entire country be solar powered or some combination of wind, solar, uh, geothermal, hydro. Shares of the electric car maker Tesla Motors are up.

Elon Musk is the Tesla man, an American billionaire whose developments of electric cars, liftoff, and space rockets is seeing technology push the boundaries like never before. And it's all driven by his belief that if we are to survive climate change, we need to develop renewable energy. Australia could actually export power to Asia. There's so much land there uh that that that you could actually power a significant chunk of Asia.

And to prove his point, Musk is building a massive lithium ion battery powered by wind turbines in James Town, South Australia. The battery is designed to help stabilize the grid. But Musk is also hoping it will be a light bulb moment for the world. You have to do these things that really get the world's attention. Otherwise, they just don't believe you. Um, they don't think it's possible. What do you want the rest of the world to see?

I really want the rest of the world to see that you can do a very large scale 100 megawatt system is is is really quite enormous. Um this is three times more than the next biggest battery in the world. That that's just a giant giant jump forward. His interest in our energy crisis started last year when South Australia, a state already heavily invested in wind and solar power, was plunged into darkness.

The result of a massive storm that saw the state lose power. [Music] Elon Musk tweeted head first into a national political brawl when fellow billionaire Australian IT whiz Mike Cannon Brooks questioned Tesla's boast that it could help solve South Australia's energy problems by building the world's biggest battery. Why did you do that? There was no idea of what would happen afterwards. Um just more if people make big claims like that.

I'd like to check if they're real. You thought I was joking. Um cuz I I had to check on it with my team. It's like I I hope I I didn't really say something super crazy. When you get a return tweet from Elon saying, "Yeah, what did you think?" Um sweet. Just checking his kosher. You know, he he he says it's going to happen. Make us make it happen. Right. So, um this is these are public tweets. Uh yeah.

And but in a way that's that's part of what locks in the guarantee, right? He's putting his reputation online in a public forum there that you know enough noise was then created around it. Enough people saw that that it was like all right that that you know he he better get that done. [Music] Canon Brooks did a crash course in renewable energy and he quickly realized there were plenty of Australians who backed the idea.

I got multiple unsolicited solicited offers for tens of millions. I think we added up to more than hund00 million dollars in offers that came in. It was it was amazing. It was inspiring um as an Australian to see people wanting to solve this problem in a real and meaningful way. And I think they're just sick of the politics on all sides and the the you know the the ridiculous nature of our uh energy situation at the moment.

But Elon Musk's battery plan was mocked by the federal government. 30,000 South Australian households could not get through watching one episode of Australia's Ninja Warrior with this big battery. Australian treasurer Scott Morrison was particularly dismissive. By all means, have the world's biggest battery. Have the world's biggest banana. Have the world's biggest prawn. I didn't realize there was this big battle going on.

It's like I didn't know. It was like M Mr. Hollywood's walked into town. Okay. And it was like, well, you know, do I see Mollywood? Maybe, but but our treasurer, Scott Morrison, declared that this was just a shiny, you know, distraction and that and that it was akin to Well, it's shiny. It is shiny and it was it's it's akin to the big pineapple or the big banana. It's just one of those kiche. I'm not sure what Wait, is that a real thing?

They're a tourist attraction, actually. Oh, look at my Is it like the world's biggest banana or something? something like that. Well, are you disappointed by that? Oh, I think you know that we get that all the time. Um, it can be a little disheartening sometimes. Um, yeah. Yeah, sometimes. Yeah. Why did the government mock Elon Musk? Well, Elon Musk's battery uh was a fraction of the size of the snowy hydro scheme.

It was sold to the people of South Australia as an answer to their woes by Jay Weatherall. Whereas in reality, it is just a fraction of what that state needs. [Music] Everyone is fair game in what is now a highstakes political power play. Electricity, the supply, but particularly the cost is constantly gnoring away at the federal government and its energy minister, Josh Friedenberg. The fact is that politics has failed Australians, hasn't it?

We have failed to deliver to Australians for years now um an essential service. Well, the Argie bargi in CRA over the last decade has not helped lower power bills. In fact, it's created the uncertainty in the market which now industry is demanding be fixed. That's why the National Energy Guarantee offers us that opportunity for the first time in more than a decade.

The National Energy Guarantee aims to make the system more reliable and ultimately ease the nation's financial pain. But the savings for households are predicted to be minuscule. We have what's called power poverty. I'm seeing people who are saying, "How can it be that, you know, I'm going to get a miserable 50 cents a week perhaps, and I'm supposed to applaud that?" Well, that's just a Labor Party distraction and distortion. Is that not true?

That is not true. So, what will they get? They will get up to $115 a year saving. And when they say, um, a couple of hundred truly, you're out of touch. You'd say a couple of hundred dollars reduction in your power bill means a lot to a lot of people and it's just the start of what we are seeking to do. Under the Labor Party, your bills will go up by hundreds of dollars. That's what the modeling shows.

No longer are we allowing the Labor Party to pursue an ideological approach. You see, they'll hate that politicking. They'll hate you saying that because that's just more politics. Well, the reality is that politics is a battle of ideas. Our idea is a national energy guarantee put forward by the experts. It allows for a greater role for renewables. It keeps coal and gas in the system. It makes up for the mistakes of the past.

And importantly, it lowers power bills. For pensioners like Brian and FA Willlet, all this talk doesn't mean much. They still have to tailor their lives around the electricity bill. Thank you, Ellie. Thank you. Mostly, it means meals are basic and require little cooking. Today, it's a bread roll, leftovers salvaged from the local bakery. One thing we need to do is make sure we keep the um curtains shut cuz Yeah. keep the heat out.

Keep the heat out. You live your life around trying to keep that power price down. Yeah. I've never really thought of it like that, but yes, that that that'll be pretty right. What do you do through winter? We did not use the heater once. Uh we tend to use blankets. Um put on two pairs of socks instead of one or wear the Ugg boots. It's stuff I presume that before you took for granted. To some ways it feels like survival rather than living.

U it seems strange that life is becoming much harder as we get older. [Music] More than ever, Australians are struggling to pay for their power. A record number of families are on hardship plans or deferred payments. And the rate of disconnections in most states has risen sharply. For Elon Musk, learning of this growing power poverty is overwhelming. Cost of power is making it almost a luxury item. Wow. Really?

It's that I didn't realize it's that expensive. Australia has so many natural resources. is I mean even if you go the fossil fuel route the electricity should be very cheap. There are Australians today wondering if they can even turn on their lights. There are Australians today wondering um well should we go without some food? Sure. In in that's just not something you would ever expect. I did not expect that. H we work harder.

For Musk, it's frustrating because for him, the solution is so simple and in abundance in Australia. The whole point of renewable energy is to make for a cleaner environment and frankly save the planet. The majority of scientists are emphatic that we're witnessing dramatic climate change. and not to fully embrace renewable energy is suicide. [Music] It's necessarily true that we will live on renewables. It's just a question of when.

In fact, it's it's it's it's in the definition that um if if it's not renewable, that means it's it's going to run out at some point and you will have the choice of collapse of civilization and um into the dark ages we go or find something that is renewable. So all of this is about um saving ourselves. Yeah. Coming up now. Yep. Boring now. The billiondoll energy business in our own backyards. Like hidden gold, isn't it?

They call it the the new oil. And how to slash your electricity bill. This is it. This is the battery. Will serve as an inspiration really to the whole world. This is possible. That's next on 60 Minutes. [Music] As Australians struggle to keep the lights on, there's a billion dollar energy business buried in our own backyard. Lithium ion batteries and their ability to store renewable energy have emerged as a massive international best seller.

And for Australia, that's great news. controller is now armed. If you hold down both of those fire buttons and don't forget to look up, then the shot will initiate now. Yep. Firing now. Well done. Well, Liz, what you just fired in 3 months that'll be in China. In 6 months, that'll be in a battery. That's extraordinary. So that that's that's a boom. Well, that's a bang. That's a bang. But it's all part of what I think might be a boom.

While our politicians continue to bicker away about the best way forward, it seems that many investors have already decided where the smart money is. With the insatiable demand for lithium ion batteries has come a new mining boom in Australia. Western Australia is now the world's largest producer of lithium.

Which means that mines like this one at Mount Marian are not only helping to feed a hungry green energy industry, they're also making a pretty penny. It's not on the scale of iron ore yet, but the lithium industry is creating new wealth and along with it new mining entrepreneurs. So this is the final product. It is and that will get trucked and then on a boat for China.

Chris Reed is the managing director of Neo Metals, a large lithium mine outside Calguli. What is the value of the lithium mining industry in Australia? Uh, currently the exports from Western Australia this financial year we predict will be uh over a billion Australian dollars. This is like hitting gold, isn't it? Well, it's uh they call it the the new oil. And it is and it might replace it. Absolutely.

I mean half the world's lithium batteries are are made in China. Uh half the lithium production is in China predominantly off Australian feed stocks. For us the next step is to value add in Australia and make our own batteries. Look I think one day certainly that that can be done. This in your opinion is an electric revolution. Yeah, look, absolutely. And it's really the format of the batteries has got bigger.

They're going in the phones, they're going in the laptops, now they're in the electric motorbikes, uh the cars, and now we're going to the largest format is is renewable energy storage. [Music] In Nevada, America, Elon Musk has a gigafactory pumping out thousands of lithium batteries in a building that only keeps growing. The batteries are to power his electric cars, but also homes and they're already in use in Australia. So, this is it.

This is it. This is the battery. And how long does it take to charge? Uh on a nice sunny day from from 0% charge it might take a few hours. [Music] In Salsbury, South Australia, Michael and Melissa Pony installed a battery to store the energy produced from their solar panels as part of a trial with their local energy provider.

and it immediately won them over when their home was one of the few to come through the storm that blacked out most of the state. I suppose I didn't realize the impact of the power cut until we came home and um I think we confused the neighbors because our lights were the only ones on on the street. Michael and Melissa now have a one-year-old son, Theo, and the expanded family means home appliances are in constant use.

using the heater more to keep um our baby, you know, nice and warm over winter. Um the dryer because it goes through so much more clothes and all those sorts of things. And uh the microwave just heating up meals and yeah, it was just, you know, I'm not working at the moment being on maternity leave. So any savings is beneficial. The couple monitors their power with the latest technology.

We've earned just in this month $32 which helps them keep a close eye on costs. Your costs you think have been halfed? Absolutely. Um I think since we've had the solar system in we would have saved thousands now. Thousands. Well, I guess you can't imagine what it might be like if you didn't have that battery. Oh, well we we were seeing electricity bills of over $1,000 before we put the solar in.

So, I can only imagine what those bills would be looking like now if we if we hadn't bit the bullet and tried to nip it in the bud when we did. Yeah. Can you give me an update on that, please? Despite the government's proposed new energy policy, little will change immediately for Australians grappling with their power bills. And with summer looming, Trans Grid CEO Paul Italiano and his staff will also be watching supply.

So we have a summer peak demand driven by air conditioning. Air conditioning and air conditioning cooling is the biggest driver of electricity demand. So when there is a blackout, do you feel you've failed? Yes. Our role is to keep the lights on. That's what we're here to do. And to keep its customers cool, Transgrid will be depending heavily on coal. We can run it remotely from both regions.

So on Tuesday, but Paul Italiano believes it is time we addressed our renewable energy options. The amount of sun, wind, and wave energy that we have available to us is the envy of the world. that if we properly configured our power system, we could have a substantially greater amount of renewable energy in it. In fact, we could lead the world in renewable energy engineering. So, you can understand why people feel duted.

We are experiencing blackouts and we can barely pay the price. No one would argue that what we are doing at the moment is considered successful. Do you have solar panels? I don't. Shame on you. It's It's a big investment and I've got uh other priorities at the moment, but certainly uh I'm watching my power bill regularly. Well, you must be shocked. Yeah. And I I And we've been paying too much.

If Elon Musk had his way, the world would be totally powered by renewables and he'd be colonizing Mars. He is a big picture man with big plans. But it might be his push for the modest lithium battery will prove to be one of the more significant steps in this electric revolution. You have been seen as a catalyst, somebody that is showing gosh there isn't there is another way. Yeah. And that's that's a great thing.

people in Australia should should be proud of the fact that Australia has the world's biggest battery. This is pretty great. Um, and that it will serve as an inspiration really to the whole world as well to to say that this is possible. Hello, I'm Liz Hayes. Thanks for watching. To keep up with the latest from 60 Minutes Australia, make sure you subscribe to our channel.

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