Businesses from all over the globe have two weeks to express their interest in building Australia's biggest battery, as part of South Australia's energy plan.
Premier Jay Weatherill says plenty of them, including Elon Musk's Tesla, have already reached out to SA about playing a role in the battery that will store wind and solar power.
As the state government gets moving on the six-point energy strategy it announced on Tuesday, the opposition says it still has questions to answer about the plan, including who will pay for a series of backup diesel generators.
The battery with a capacity of about 100MW will be the first project financed through a new $150 renewable technology fund created by the strategy.
Two new gas-fired power plants and tougher legislation to intervene in the national electricity market also headline the $550 million plan.
Mr Weatherill says a fortnight-long expression of interest period for building the battery opened to both Australian and international companies on Wednesday.
But he says the government has already had a great deal of interest from companies including Zen Energy, Carnegie Clean Energy, Lion Energy and Tesla.
Mr Weatherill says the decision on who to go with will be based on companies' technical capacity, who can have the battery ready for summer and on broader benefits to SA, such as the creation of local jobs or "reputational" gains.
"The reputational benefit of having a company that has the significance of Tesla coming to South Australia could be a consideration," he told reporters.
He said the government may opt to work with more than one company, potentially through three sets of 50MW batteries.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the state government still had important questions to address about its new suite of energy policies.
He said the plan includes installing diesel generation in SA which have not been accounted for in the costings that have so far been provided.
"With the premier's $550 million bailout of South Australia's electricity system already fully allocated he will need to explain how he is going to pay for this expensive form of generation," he said in a statement.
The strategy, which Mr Weatherill said would ensure the state's energy security, put downward pressure on electricity prices and create about 600 new jobs, was met with mixed reviews on Tuesday.
The federal government says it will actually drive up prices and it will investigate if the wider powers to intervene cut across National Electricity Market rules.
Power company AGL doesn't appear concerned, calling SA's proposal a "considered and comprehensive approach" to challenges in the market.
Environmental and renewable energy groups have decried the plan's continued commitment to gas but welcomed the increased funding for renewable energy.
