By Dru Barcelo

Investor, engineer and inventor Elon Musk is on a mission – a mission to demonstrate the capabilities of renewable energies to surpass that of fossil fuels. With the construction of what would be the world’s current largest lithium-ion battery system, under the umbrella of his company Tesla, Mr. Musk could set an example to the world of what a clean future could look like

Some of Musk’s biggest critics argue some of his larger than life ideas may be less than feasible, but the billionaire put his money where his mouth is. The clock is ticking on his promise to build this battery in South Australia within 100 days or provide it for free.

“To have that [construction] done in two months … you can’t remodel your kitchen in that period of time,” Musk told an audience in Jamestown where he announced his plans.

The agreement stands between the state of South Australia, Tesla and Neoen, a French wind farm developer, working to install and get the battery systems up and running.

The system would store and intermittently release energy to the the region’s electrical infrastructure, providing electricity to more than 30,000 homes.

This battery system is designed to overcome one of the main obstacles to greater reliance on renewable power sources, being that they can store up power produced while the wind blows or sun shines, and then release it steadily to the grid later when generation stalls.

Musk has turned his attention to Australia to prove a point for storage technology. He’s betting the power his system saves will stop the domestic blackouts and gas shortages that currently cripple many Australians.

“The vast majority of the world is still fossil fuel power,” Musk told an audience at the event. “This is really just the beginning, but I think what this serves as is a good example to the rest of the world of what can be done.”