Tesla highlights key battery power milestone in Texas

Credit: Tesla Megapack | X

Tesla has highlighted an important milestone in the deployment of battery power in Texas this month, as solar and energy storage systems continue to become utilized in increasing volumes.

On Monday, the Tesla Energy account on X reposted an energy deployment milestone from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the vast majority of electrical operations in Texas. According to Tesla and the agency, batteries sent more power to the grid in Texas on August 20 than ever before.

It was also a record-breaking day overall for demand, solar generation, and net load, leading to the record day in battery discharge and indicating the changing energy landscape as the renewable energy storage industry grows.

“Batteries sent more power to the grid in ERCOT than ever before,” wrote ERCOT in the original thread. “Shattering the previous record, battery discharge peaked 20 percent higher than the previous record set only the day before as ERCOT released ECRS fully.”

Tesla has been a major player in the energy storage industry, with the company offering two main products for storing generated energy: its grid-scale Megapack batteries, and its smaller home and commercial Powerwall batteries.

Tesla builds its Megapack at a factory, dubbed a “Megafactory,” in Lathrop, California, and it builds the Powerwall at its Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. The company has also begun construction on its second Megafactory in Shanghai, China, with both facilities aiming for an annual production of 10,000 Megapacks upon reaching volume production.

In the second quarter, Tesla posted a record of 9.4 GWh of battery storage deployed, and the company has already predicted that the sales growth rate of its energy division would outpace that of its automotive business in 2024. Elon Musk also noted last year that the energy arm was quickly becoming the company’s highest-margin business.

Just last week, Tesla also produced a record number of Powerwall battery units at Giga Nevada, after the company surpassed 600,000 Powerwall installations globally in February.

Last August, Tesla was also approved by Texas to pilot its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program, which lets Powerwall owners sell electricity back to the electrical grid during times of peak demand.

Tesla has also deployed several Megapack batteries in the state, with the company last month landing an over $3 billion contract to build 15.3 GWh of Megapacks across three Texas sites.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zachary Visconti: Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently resides in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies for Teslarati, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking lots of coffee, or hanging out with his cat, Banks. Reach out to Zach at zach@teslarati.com, or you can find him on X @zacharyvisconti.
Related Post
Disqus Comments Loading...