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Tesla-powered Slovenian company ups the ante with new Megapack installation

Credit: NGEN

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A Tesla-powered company in the European country of Slovenia has increased its sustainable energy project by adding Tesla Megapacks to its already existing infrastructure of Powerpacks.

In 2019, NGEN, a Slovenian energy system solutions company, became the first country in the Balkin Peninsula to install a grid-scale battery storage unit. It consisted of 126 Tesla Powerpacks capable of a 22.2 MWh capacity. Now, NGEN is upping the stakes with a new 15 MW/30 MWh Tesla Megapack in the town of Kidričevo.

“After successful implementation of Tesla Powerpack in 2019, we immediately continued with a second, even bigger project,” NGEN told Teslarati.

Credit: NGEN

The company expected the €15 million ($17,613,675) project following the success of the Powerpack investment last year. After introducing the first Tesla energy system in October 2019, NGEN’s Damien Merlak said that additional installations were expected for 2020.

Twelve Megapacks provide NGEN with a 30.2 MWh capacity, which is prepared to assist the European grid in preventing blackouts. The grid ranges from the Iberian Peninsula over Turkey to Nordkapp, Norway, and has a frequency of approximately 50.0 Hz, NGEN said. “The grid frequency is the same all over the grid, with the exception of local short-term swings. To prevent blackouts, grid services are required.”

NGEN owners Bernard and Damian Merlak. (Credit: NGEN)

However, many grid services are powered by conventional generators, which ultimately leads to higher maintenance costs and lower efficiency. This is where Tesla’s battery energy storage systems, or BESS, come into play.

NGEN recognizes the importance of energy storage systems for future implementation in the European sector. “Power grids today are centralized. Fault on transmission grids could cause a blackout, not only in the country where it occurred but in the whole of Europe. To prevent that from happening, power grids need to be transformed,” the company said.

To assist in the transition to BESS for the European grid, NGEN has also developed an in-house software that can control “all different assets included in the aggregator’s portfolio.” NGEN’s software has the ability to enable complete frequency regulation services to European transmission and distribution system operators. Additionally, the software is compliant with European Union trading and balancing platforms, including Tesla’s Autobidder.

As for the future, NGEN said it plans to expand to neighboring countries beginning in 2021. “We are looking for possibilities to assist other companies with installation, setting up the BESS, controlling it with our software, and to offer technical support on international markets. Our mission is to build a network of integrated systems in this part of Europe, which will meet the upcoming challenges of the transition into a carbon-free society.”

A video released by NGEN on its new Megapack system is available below.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Energy

Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected

Tesla will inaugurate its Nevada Semi factory September 24, five months after production quietly began ramping.

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Tesla says it will officially inaugurate its new Semi factory in Nevada next month. The Tesla Semi account posted the announcement on X, sharing a graphic titled “Semi Rollout” with a date of September 24. No further details were given about the format of the event or who would attend.

While Tesla’s dedicated Semi plant in Sparks, adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, opened back in April, with the first trucks rolling off the high volume line on April 29, the timing for the factory inauguration comes at a surprise. The ribbon cutting event five months into production is a break from how Tesla has usually handled its other factories, where the first truck or car off the line typically served as the milestone moment.

The 1.7 million square foot factory was built as part of a $3.6 billion expansion Tesla announced in early 2023, and it shares a site with the battery cell lines that feed the Semi’s structural pack, a decision meant to remove the supply bottleneck that delayed the truck for years. The plant is designed for 50,000 trucks a year at full ramp. Semi program director Dan Priestley has said production “is now ramping” rather than claiming it has reached scale.

Nine years passed between the Semi’s 2017 unveiling and this stage of production, with the truck slipping from an original 2019 target through hand built pilot units for PepsiCo and a slow build out of the Nevada plant. An inauguration event now gives Tesla a stage to talk up that ramp and reset expectations for how many trucks it can begin delivering at scale.

The September date also lines up with the Semi’s next milestone. Tesla confirmed the truck is heading to Europe with a full unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade show in Hannover, Germany, running September 15 through 20. Between the Nevada event and the Hannover reveal, Tesla has roughly a week and a half in September to make the case that the Semi is now a truck being built and sold on two continents rather than tested in a handful of fleets.

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Energy

Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.

Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.

This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.

Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.

The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.

Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants

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Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.

Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.

The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.

Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.

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Elon Musk

Inside Tesla’s secretive $10 Billion “Project Crystal Sun” filing

Tesla filed for a $10.1 billion Fort Bend solar factory, but the site isn’t confirmed.

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Tesla has filed paperwork in Texas for a second massive manufacturing project in the same week it locked down its chip fabrication site, this time for a $10.1 billion solar cell plant in Fort Bend County. The filing, submitted July 22 under the state’s Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act and first surfaced by Sawyer Merritt on X, lists an internal project name of “Project Crystal Sun” and targets a site off FM 762 and FM 1994 near Richmond, about 40 minutes outside Houston.

The application, prepared by Kroll Tax Services on Tesla’s behalf, spans five parcels totaling roughly 3,000 acres within the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. Tesla wants a 10 year property tax limitation in exchange for the investment, split as $1.5 billion in real property and $8.6 billion in equipment and personal property. The company projects 9,712 permanent jobs once the plant reaches full operation, with 1,147 peak construction jobs during a build window running from this year through 2028 and commercial operations targeted for the first quarter of 2029.

Tesla is not fully committed to Fort Bend County yet. The filing states the company is weighing the site against an unnamed out of state alternative, and frames the tax abatement as what would make Texas competitive against that option. If the district and county decline the incentive, Tesla says it may build elsewhere.

Tesla Megapack Megafactory in Texas advances with major property sale

The plant would handle the full solar cell production chain in one facility, according to the filing, covering wafer and ingot manufacturing, coating, metallization and printing lines, cell testing, automated material handling and cleanroom infrastructure. That scope points to Tesla vertically integrating a part of its supply chain it currently sources largely from overseas partners, mirroring the approach behind its expanding Megapack production in Brookshire, Texas, where Tesla has already built out two buildings for its grid battery business.

The timing lines up closely with Tesla and SpaceX’s other big Texas commitment this month. SpaceX confirmed its Terafab chip factory would land in Grimes County days before this filing surfaced, with construction on that $16.8 billion project starting almost immediately after local officials met with residents. Terafab is meant to produce the AI chips running Tesla’s Optimus robots and Full Self-Driving software, while a solar cell plant would feed a different part of the business, the panels and storage systems Tesla sells to homeowners, businesses and utilities, and increasingly needs to power its own data centers.

Musk has talked about building domestic solar manufacturing capacity before, tying it to the amount of power Tesla’s AI ambitions will require.

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