Energy
Tesla Energy takes part in CA’s record-breaking 2.2 GWh battery storage project
Tesla Energy is poised to participate in California’s initiative to build one of the world’s largest battery systems. After a historic 4-1 vote, California utility regulators approved a proposal put forward by Pacific Gas & Electric, which aimed to replace three natural gas-fired power plants in the state with utility-grade lithium-ion batteries.
When completed, the projects approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) would be among the largest battery installations in the United States. Among these is a 300 MW lithium-ion battery from Dynegy, as well as a 182.5 MW Tesla battery system. Installations from Hummingbird Energy Storage (75 MW) and mNOC (10MW) allow the entire clean energy initiative to reach a total of 567 MW. Considering that all the battery systems have four-hour ratings, the total energy rating of the entire project is an impressive 2.27 GWh.
Among the most notable gas-powered plants that would be replaced by the battery installations is a facility in Moss Landing, CA, located around 15 miles north of Monterey. All the battery systems, particularly Tesla’s 182.5 MW installation and Dynegy’s 300 MW battery, will be located on the site of the outgoing gas-powered plant.
Apart from being impressive in its size, the recently approved battery projects will not only connect to the area’s substation and transmission infrastructure built for the Moss Landing Power Plant; the lithium-ion batteries will replace the entire range of services provided by the plant itself as well. Dynegy, who owns the gas-powered plant, noted back in February that it would likely retire the facility. The CPUC has stated that another plant in Gilroy would probably go offline in the near future as well.
While the benefits of industry-grade batteries are notable, PG&E’s proposal met a notable amount of opposition nonetheless, particularly from gas generator Calpine, the California Direct Access Customer Coalition, and the California Community Choice Association. According to the project’s skeptics, the investment in the lithium-ion battery systems would not be a good use of taxpayer funds. Despite the opposition, though, the large-scale energy storage project was approved nonetheless.
With the project’s approval from the CPUC, California has managed to take a step forward in its efforts to decarbonize its electric system by shifting from natural gas to greener solutions. In a statement to GreenTechMedia, Matt Vespa, staff attorney at Earthjustice, stated that the upcoming battery installations would give several benefits to the state’s residents.
“Not only will this help California integrate solar and reduce the need to ramp up polluting gas plants in the late afternoon, but it will also provide local reliability needs in an area that is currently highly reliant on gas-fired generation. We are getting multiple benefits, pushing gas off the system, and moving a step closer to a decarbonized grid,” he said.
While Tesla’s Energy business usually takes a back seat to its electric car business, the company’s battery storage division continues to grow rapidly. Billionaire investor Ron Baron, for one, stated that he believes Tesla’s energy business could be worth $500 billion on its own by 2030. In a way, part of this projected growth is attributed to the declining price of batteries and the performance of projects such as the South Australia Powerpack farm, which has all but triggered a clean energy movement in the region. In a statement earlier this year, Tesla CTO JB Straubel remarked that battery technology has progressed to a point where it now has the potential to replace inefficient and dirty power plants.
“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,” Straubel said.
The emergence of Tesla Energy at this point in time could bode well for the company, particularly since battery storage is expected to grow in the future. A study from GTM Research, for one, estimates that sales of energy storage for both residential and utility markets in America would probably hit $541 million this year, before passing $1 billion in 2019, and eventually reaching $4.6 billion in 2023. If Tesla Energy can ramp its operations in time, and if its batteries prove themselves in the field, the electric car maker could very well position itself strategically in what could, in more ways than one, be a clean energy gold rush.
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.
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.
Inauguration of new Semi factory in Nevada next month pic.twitter.com/a8kAlxrOOn
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) August 24, 2026
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.
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.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
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
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.
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.
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.
Tesla is planning to build a $10.1 billion vertically integrated solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County, Texas, about 40 minutes from Houston, according to a new public application filing.
Tesla is aiming to start construction this year and finish in 2028, with… pic.twitter.com/f3HIK5HGST
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 7, 2026
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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