Energy
Tesla batteries could serve as back up for Massachusetts wind farm
Tesla batteries could be used as energy storage for a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts.
Deepwater Wind LLC is looking to partner with Tesla for the 144-megawatt project, as reported by Bloomberg. The company will bid with the state of Massachusetts to build offshore wind turbines that would provide clean energy during peak hours.
The facility would help supplement the power grid by charging up late at night and delivering power during high volume times, according to Deepwater Chief Executive Officer Jeff Grybowski.
National Grid Plc, Unitil Corp. and Eversource Energy — three Massachusetts utility companies — are requesting $9.45 million of clean energy and have opened bidding from solar, hydroelectric and wind companies, as well as other forms of clean energy.
The power companies need supplemental power mainly during winter evenings.
“Those hours are very valuable to the grid,” said Grybowski. “The battery will ensure that we can do that.”
A decision won’t be made until December, and bids are expected to be made public sometime this week.
For Tesla, this project falls directly in line with other Powerpack outfits around the world. The company already has a massive battery operation underway in Australia, and its massive solar plant in Hawaii was created to serve a similar function.
The Massachusetts project, should Tesla and Deep Water Wind win the bid, would only require a 40 MWh storage system. This storage capability would be smaller than the 52 MWh system Tesla has set up on Kauai and the 100 MWh system that will be installed in southern Australia.
Deepwater Wind issued the following press release:
Deepwater Wind Proposing World’s Largest Offshore Wind, Energy Storage Combination
Revolution Wind Farm Bid into Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP
New Bedford, Mass. – July 31, 2017 – Deepwater Wind today unveiled plans for its newest project off the American coast: Revolution Wind, a utility-scale offshore wind farm paired with an energy storage system.
“Revolution Wind will be the largest combined offshore wind and energy storage project in the world,” said Deepwater Wind Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Grybowski. “People may be surprised by just how affordable and reliable this clean energy combo will be. Offshore wind is mainstream and it is coming to the U.S. in a big way.”
Deepwater Wind is proposing the 144-megawatt Revolution Wind farm – paired with a 40 megawatt-hour battery storage system provided by Tesla – in response to the Commonwealth’s request for proposals for new sources of clean energy in Section 83D of the Act to Promote Energy Diversity. Deepwater Wind also provided alternative bids for a larger 288 MW version of Revolution Wind and a smaller 96 MW version.
“Revolution Wind is flexible and scalable. That’s a serious advantage of offshore wind – we can build to the exact size utilities need,” Grybowski said. “We can build a larger project if other New England states want to participate now or we can start smaller to fit into the region’s near-term energy gaps. And our pricing at any size will be very competitive with the alternatives.”
Deepwater Wind also announced that it will be the first offshore wind company to base construction and operations in the City of New Bedford, Mass. The company will locate final turbine assembly and staging operations at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. In addition, Revolution Wind’s long-term operations and maintenance center will be in the City. Together, this project will create hundreds of local jobs in the Commonwealth.
Revolution Wind’s offshore wind-battery storage pairing will allow the Commonwealth to meet two policy goals. First, by reliably delivering clean energy – backed up with energy storage – during the times when the grid needs it most, Revolution Wind will help to defer the need to construct costly new peaking generating facilities and controversial transmission lines.
Second, Revolution Wind will advance offshore wind development in Massachusetts by providing an avenue to launch the new industry with an initial smaller-scale project, and phase in larger projects in close succession. This way, the Commonwealth’s ratepayers will benefit from increased competition and declining costs, and the regional supply chain will steadily mature.
At 144 megawatts, Revolution Wind could be built in a single construction season, and developed more cost-effectively, and with considerably less risk, than a larger project.
Deepwater Wind will build Revolution Wind in the company’s federal lease site off the coast of Massachusetts. The site is located 30 miles from the mainland and about 12 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The wind farm will be adjacent to Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind Farm, a 90 MW project serving Long Island. Fully-built, the lease site has the potential to host 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy.
If approved, local construction work on Revolution Wind would begin in 2022, with the project in operations in 2023. Survey work is already underway at Deepwater Wind’s lease area.
Deepwater Wind also intends to submit an offshore wind proposal under Massachusetts’ separate 83C offshore wind RFP; those bids are due in December 2018.
About Deepwater Wind
Deepwater Wind is America’s leading offshore wind developer and the only company operating an offshore wind farm in the United States. The company’s 30MW Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island began commercial operations in December 2016. The company is also in the early stages of development of its South Fork Wind Farm – a 90 MW project scheduled to begin serving Long Island in 2022 – as well as the Skipjack Wind Farm – a 120 MW project on schedule to begin serving Maryland in late 2022. Visit www.dwwind.com for more info.
Energy
Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas
The initiative was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Tesla has launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program in Texas, allowing eligible Cybertruck owners to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events and receive compensation on their utility bills.
The initiative, dubbed Powershare Grid Support, was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Texas’ Cybertruck V2G program
In its post on X, Tesla Energy confirmed that vehicle-to-grid functionality is “coming soon,” starting with select Texas markets. Under the new Powershare Grid Support program, owners of the Cybertruck equipped with Powershare home backup hardware can opt in through the Tesla app and participate in short-notice grid stress events.
During these events, the Cybertruck automatically discharges excess energy back to the grid, supporting local utilities such as CenterPoint Energy and Oncor. In return, participants receive compensation in the form of bill credits. Tesla noted that the program is currently invitation-only as part of an early adopter rollout.
The launch builds on the Cybertruck’s existing Powershare capability, which allows the vehicle to provide up to 11.5 kW of power for home backup. Tesla added that the program is expected to expand to California next, with eligibility tied to utilities such as PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.
Powershare Grid Support
To participate in Texas, Cybertruck owners must live in areas served by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor, have Powershare equipment installed, enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive plan, and opt in through the Tesla app. Once enrolled, vehicles would be able to contribute power during high-demand events, helping stabilize the grid.
Tesla noted that events may occur with little notice, so participants are encouraged to keep their Cybertrucks plugged in when at home and to manage their discharge limits based on personal needs. Compensation varies depending on the electricity plan, similar to how Powerwall owners in some regions have earned substantial credits by participating in Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.
Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.
Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.
Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.
However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.
Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.
However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:
“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026.
This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.
Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.
Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:
As a Cybertruck owner who also has Powerwall, I empathize with the disappointed comments.
To their credit, the team has delivered powershare functionality to Cybertruck customers who otherwise have no backup with development of the powershare gateway. As well as those with solar…
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 12, 2025
He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”
It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.
Energy
Tesla starts hiring efforts for Texas Megafactory
Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage.
Tesla has officially begun hiring for its new $200 million Megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, a manufacturing hub expected to employ 1,500 people by 2028. The facility, which will build Tesla’s grid-scale Megapack batteries, is part of the company’s growing energy storage footprint.
Tesla’s hiring efforts for the Texas Megafactory are hinted at by the job openings currently active on the company’s Careers website.
Tesla’s Texas Megafactory
Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, similar to the Lathrop Megafactory in California. Tesla’s Careers website currently lists over 30 job openings for the site, from engineers, welders, and project managers. Each of the openings is listed for Brookshire, Texas.
The company has leased two buildings in Empire West Business Park, with over $194 million in combined property and equipment investment. Tesla’s agreement with Waller County includes a 60% property tax abatement, contingent on meeting employment benchmarks: 375 jobs by 2026, 750 by 2027, and 1,500 by 2028, as noted in a report from the Houston Business Journal. Tesla is required to employ at least 1,500 workers in the facility through the rest of the 10-year abatement period.
Tesla’s clean energy boom
City officials have stated that Tesla’s arrival marks a turning point for the Texas city, as it highlights a shift from logistics to advanced clean energy manufacturing. Ramiro Bautista from Brookshire’s economic development office, highlighted this in a comment to the Journal.
“(Tesla) has great-paying jobs. Not just that, but the advanced manufacturing (and) clean energy is coming to the area,” he said. “So it’s not just your normal logistics manufacturing. This is advanced manufacturing coming to this area, and this brings a different type of job and investment into the local economy.”
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