Tesla Megapack battery operational

SAN FRANCISCO >> A 182.5-megawatt energy storage system in Northern California that was designed and constructed in a partnership between Tesla and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is operational, the utility announced Monday.

The system includes 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs and has the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt hours of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 megawatts per hour during periods of high demand,

PG&E said in a statement.

Known as the Elkhorn Battery because of its location in Monterey Bay's Elkhorn Slough, the lithiumion battery storage system was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2018 and by the Monterey County Planning commission in 2020, when construction began.

The system is one of nine projects that would bring PG&E's total battery energy storage system capacity to more than 3,330 MW by 2024, the utility said.

The massive batteries are charged when energy demand is low or when alternative energy produced by solar or wind is high, providing additional capacity by sending that reserved power to the grid when demand grows, it added.

“We are committed to safely delivering reliable and clean energy in a way that achieves the greatest value for our customers, but we can't go it alone into this clean energy future. Projects like this require innovative partners, such as Tesla, and PG&E will continue to seek out and work with the best and brightest to provide breakthrough clean energy solutions for our customers,” said PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe.