May 30, 2026 – 5.00amIn 2017, around six months after an enormous storm knocked out the entire South Australian power grid, the state government announced plans to build a giant battery to solve the problem. The 100 megawatt Hornsdale super battery – which was to be built in months at the personal behest of Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk – would be the biggest in the world and plug a critical hole in Australia’s power grid.Not everyone was convinced. Then prime minister Scott Morrison compared it to Coffs Harbour’s Big Banana: a curiosity for energy tourists, but not likely to solve any of the problems dogging Australia’s grid. Nationals firebrand Matt Canavan went one further, dubbing it the Kim Kardashian of the energy world. “It’s famous for being famous,” he said. “It really doesn’t do very much.”Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Ryan CroppEnergy and climate reporterRyan Cropp is an energy and climate reporter at The Australian Financial Review based in the Canberra bureau.Fetching latest articles