Broadcast Australia, a BAI Communications company, says the installation of the Tesla Powerwall provides a more reliable solution for local radio services in the region.

The project was initiated and supported by the Corryong Fire Brigade to secure a solution that would provide a back-up capacity of up to 27 hours.  

Broadcast Australia and the ABC worked together with the Corryong community to identify the benefits back-up power could bring to improve service reliability.  

Broadcast Australia says the innovative application of Tesla Powerwall would help ensure that the ABC local radio service in Corryong had enough stored energy to operate in times of emergency when the network supply has failed.

“This is crucial during emergencies like blackouts, flood or fires to ensure the Corryong and Upper Murray community remain informed and up-to-date with local news and emergency broadcast information,” Broadcast Australia said.

“To date, we haven’t had a back-up power solution which historically meant that during inevitable mains power outages, people weren’t able to get the ABC local radio,” said Warwick Ross of Corryong Fire Brigade.

“Thanks to the efforts within our community as well as the technology and support of Broadcast Australia, this Tesla Powerwall will ensure failures won’t leave Corryong’s residents uninformed.

“Local radio services are so important to communities like Corryong, especially in times of emergency. However, times of emergency often also coincide with power outages, making it difficult to keep the services running consistently. When we heard about the challenge that Corryong was facing, we saw it as a great opportunity to apply the 13.5kWh Tesla Powerwall to improve the site’s back-up capacity and strengthen the community’s radio infrastructure.”

“At Broadcast Australia we take pride in our strong focus on technology innovation. When we needed to replace our existing lead-acid power supply at Hopetoun, our engineering team realised this was the optimal opportunity to trial new lithium-Ion technologies, which is why we turned to Tesla,” said Peter Lambourne, chief executive of Broadcast Australia.

Broadcast Australia says it has already successfully tested Tesla Powerwall technology at its Hopetoun site in Victoria to assess its suitability to be applied elsewhere.