Energy
Tesla Energy, battery storage broke new ground in 2018, and 2019 will be even better
Visionaries like Elon Musk, who are aiming for a world powered by sustainable energy, would be proud of the industry’s progress in 2018. Over the course of the year, investments flowed into research, the prices of batteries declined, governments across the globe supported clean energy solutions, and electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model 3 led the charge in transitioning the transportation sector away from fossil fuels.
A study from Bloomberg New Energy Finance has noted that in 2018, global annual energy storage more than doubled, reaching 9 GWh, and it is currently on pace to rise another 78% this year. In August 2018, the cumulative sales of electric cars passed the 4 million mark as well, and NEF analysts expect the EV industry to surpass 5 million in sales in the first quarter of 2019. Even in the United States, where companies like Tesla are struggling to meet the demand for their residential energy products, deployments on a rated-power basis across the country rose 57% to an estimated 338 KW after three years of flat to negative growth.
At the core of all this growth are the advancements in battery technology. Producers of batteries have ramped their operations to meet increasing demand, from China’s BYD Co. Ltd. to South Korea’s LG Chem to Japan’s Panasonic Corp. and its US partner Tesla. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence notes that by 2028, the combined manufacturing capacity of these battery producers would likely reach at least 1,330 GWh. That’s about ten times greater than the entire’s industry’s total capacity entering 2018.
In an email to S&P Global Market Intelligence, Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, mentioned that the scale of recent battery projects signifies a change in the market. Moores also pointed out that while the emergence of electric cars is notable, the rise of energy storage has been impressive as well.
“When you see projects now being planned at over 1 GWh in scale, when only 18 months ago a 300-MWh installation was something to behold, you know you have entered a new era. It has been quite interesting to watch the battery makers’ dilemma of where to send the lithium-ion cells. Of course, they have contracts to honor with automotive producers, but the order inquiries from [energy storage] producers have been incredible,” Moores said.
One thing that is working in favor of renewables today is the falling prices of batteries and clean energy as a whole. Tom Buttgenbach, president and CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables LLC, described this in a statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant. Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper,” he said.
Buttgenbach’s statements echo the words of Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, who noted last year that the age of fossil fuel powered peaker plants is at an end. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Straubel stated that batteries, even at their current state, are already starting to prove themselves as superior to conventional energy solutions.
“I think what we’ll see is we won’t build many new peaker plants, if any. Already what we’re seeing happening is the number of new ones being commissioned is drastically lower, and batteries are already outcompeting natural gas peaker plants,” the Tesla CTO said.
While the progress of batteries has been impressive, though, Logan Goldie-Scot, head of energy storage at Bloomberg NEF, has stated that the past year exhibited uneven growth among different regions across the globe. South Korea, for one, saw a rise in energy deployments, while territories like the United Kingdom took a step back. In the United States, extreme demand such as those faced by Tesla Energy for products like the Powerwall 2 also caused delays in installations. Yet, despite these, Goldie-Scot stated that 2018 was a turning point for energy storage nonetheless.
“Even though progress was uneven, there was a much greater consensus in 2018 over the importance of energy storage, even in the near term, in major markets. In 2017, there were still a lot of people talking about how energy storage was not necessarily a competitive solution and was going to be limited. I hear those conversations much less now. Energy storage is now becoming more integrated into resource plans,” she said.
Amidst this transition, companies such as Tesla are taking the battle to heart. Last November, for example, Tesla opened the doors of Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, NY to select members of the media. During the media visit, Tesla noted that it is aiming to ramp operations in the site with more hires, and that the 1.2-million sq ft facility is already running 24/7, with employees alternating 12-hour shifts. Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 is expected to play a huge role in the company’s energy business, considering that it is the site where the Solar Roof tiles, the company’s flagship solar product, are being manufactured.
Tesla has started to perform earthworks engineering on the roughly 3,000-acre site in Fort Bend County, Texas, advancing the massive $10 billion Project Crystal Sun plan to build a vertically integrated solar manufacturing complex.
Flyover drone footage from S.E. Robinson, Jr. released this morning shows the location under development. Tesla has crews on site performing large clearings, but you can also see equipment staging areas, the use of an existing homestead, and active leveling across a substantial portion of the property.
Tesla has started construction on Project Crystal Sun, its $10B vertically integrated solar factory near Houston, Texas.
The plant will make everything from silicon ingots and wafers to finished cells and panels, with operations targeted for Q1 2029.
@SERobinsonJr with a great flyover of the facility:
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
Public filings first submitted in July under Texas’s Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act describe a plant that would manufacture the full solar chain: everything from silicon ingots, wafers, coated cells, and finished modules.
Tesla projects 9,712 permanent jobs by 2033, ramping from roughly 1,900 positions in the first year of operations, plus a peak of about 1,147 construction jobs. Construction is targeted for 2026–2028, with commercial production beginning in the first quarter of 2029. An accompanying economic analysis estimates the project could add roughly $107 billion to Texas GDP over several decades.
Local incentives have cleared major hurdles. Lamar Consolidated Independent School District unanimously approved school-tax limitations in September, and Fort Bend County commissioners approved a package of abatements and related agreements in late October that could extend equipment tax breaks for as long as 35 years.
Tesla had previously indicated it was evaluating a competing out-of-state location.
The effort fits broader statements by Musk that Tesla and SpaceX are each working toward 100 gigawatts of annual U.S. solar manufacturing capacity. If built as described, Project Crystal Sun would stand as one of the largest domestic attempts to create a fully integrated solar supply chain on American soil.
While Tesla has not issued a formal groundbreaking announcement, the visible site preparation and high-profile social media activity represent a concrete step forward for a project that has moved from confidential filings to active earthworks in a matter of months.
Energy
Taiwan power firm bets big on Tesla Megapacks as AI data center thirst grows
Taiwan’s Apollo Power orders 260 Tesla Megapacks, betting AI data centers will need more electricity.
A Taiwanese power company has ordered 260 Tesla Megapack 2XL units, roughly 1GWh of storage, betting that electricity rather than chips will decide how fast AI data centers come online. Apollo Power signed the contract with Tesla’s Taiwan energy arm on October 8, according to the company’s filing with the Taiwan stock exchange.
The filing says the units are meant for behind the meter storage and resilient grid projects, with delivery in batches from the end of 2027 and sites operating in 2028. Apollo and Tesla did not disclose a price, citing a confidentiality agreement. Apollo plans to pay for the equipment through a cash capital increase and bank financing, and it noted the purchase is not revenue and does not mean it holds firm orders from its partners.
Biggo reported that only about 33 units are under signed customer contracts, with roughly 150 more in negotiation. The same report put total project investment near NT$130 billion, but that figure includes installation work, with the equipment itself making up about 40 to 50 percent. In other words, a large share of this order is Apollo reserving supply ahead of demand. Apollo’s chairman told local media global large storage supply is tight, which is why the company locked in the units early, according to Yahoo Taiwan Finance.
Apollo also launched an AI data center and grid resilience alliance with Phison, Gigabyte and Shihlin Electric. The pitch rests on a pilot at Phison’s Zhunan plant, where Apollo and Tesla Energy Taiwan installed grid forming Megapack 2XLs in June. Tesla Energy Taiwan general manager Sun Hsiao-Han said the project went from demo to 1GWh in four months, and that Tesla Energy has deployed more than 50GWh worldwide.
Taiwan’s cabinet has approved amendments that would require large energy users to install their own generation and storage, which gives enterprise storage a regulatory tailwind.
The deal fits a pattern Teslarati has tracked. Tesla’s Megablock targets 1GWh commissioned in 20 business days, a pitch aimed squarely at fast moving data center builds. Megapacks already back xAI’s Colossus in Memphis and a 400MW AI campus in Brazil. Sun Media adds that Megapack 2XL was named among the first products in Nvidia’s DSX Ready qualification for battery storage in AI factories.
Deliveries are more than a year away, so the real test is how much of that 260 unit order turns into signed customer contracts.
Energy
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y can now do what only Cybertruck could
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y can power your home with Powerwall 3 during outages.
Tesla has turned its two top sellers into backup batteries for the house.
Tesla Energy announced on Tuesday that Powershare Home Backup is now available for new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles paired with a Powerwall 3, saying the car can “extend your home backup by over 2 days.” Minutes later, Tesla’s main account quoted the post with a broader pitch: “With Powerwall 3, every Tesla can now serve as your home’s backup battery.”
Until this week, the Cybertruck was the only Tesla that could send power back into a home, and that capability only began working alongside Powerwall 3 last month, after years of ambitious targets.
Tesla’s updated Powershare page says every Model 3 and Model Y ordered in the U.S. or Puerto Rico on or after October 1, 2026 can use the feature. Some, but not all, earlier cars also qualify. Owners can check on the touchscreen under Software, then Additional Vehicle Information, where a capable car shows “Powershare Support: Enabled.” As Electrek reported, bidirectional power on the two cars runs through an inverter Tesla calls PCS2 Lite, and the company has not said when that part entered production on each trim.
The home side is simpler. A house that already has a Powerwall 3 and either a Wall Connector 3 or Universal Wall Connector needs no additional equipment, and Tesla says compatibility is enabled through a software update. When the grid drops, the Powerwall and the car work together, with up to 11.52 kW of continuous power available. Tesla’s “over two days” estimate assumes a home using 30 kWh per day and a car starting at a 90 percent charge. Standard trims are rated for up to two days, while the Cybertruck adds more than three.
There are limits. Powerwall 2 and Powerwall+ support is listed as “coming soon.” Model S and Model X are not included, and Grid Support, the program that lets Cybertruck owners in Texas send power back to the grid during demand spikes for bill credits, is not available for Model 3 or Model Y.
The rollout also lines up with something Elon Musk said more than three years ago. At Tesla’s March 2023 Investor Day, Musk said, “I don’t think very many people are going to want to use bidirectional charging, unless you have a Powerwall.” Tesla has now shipped the feature for its volume cars with exactly that requirement attached.
The Powerwall pairing was the hard part on Cybertruck. Tesla told owners in December 2025 that Powershare with Powerwall had been pushed to mid 2026, and lead engineer Wes Morrill explained that two devices capable of forming a home’s grid have to negotiate which one leads during an outage, across multiple generations of hardware. With that work done for the truck, Tesla was able to extend it to the Model 3 and Model Y within a month.
Ford and GM have offered home backup from their EVs for several years, but both require a separate inverter and backup hardware. Tesla’s version leans on equipment many Powerwall 3 owners already have on the wall. Powershare for the two cars also ships as part of software update 2026.38.3, the same release that began delivering Halloween Mode on Tuesday.
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