New Video Offers In-Depth Look At Tesla Energy
Originally posted on EVANNEX.
by Charles Morris
There’s an intimate connection between electric vehicles and renewable energy, and that connection — both literally and symbolically — runs directly through the electrical grid. Intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind need grid-connected storage in order to be viable, and the most flexible and scalable type of storage is a battery, which just happens to be the core technology behind EVs. Thus, advances in battery technology, and expansion of battery manufacturing, have applications for two very different industries.
Tesla understood this early in the game — it launched Tesla Energy, a division that provides stationary storage batteries for residential (Powerwall), commercial (Powerpack) and utility-scale (Megapack) applications, in 2015. Elon Musk has said on several occasions that Tesla Energy could someday become bigger than Tesla’s automobile business.
That hasn’t happened yet, but Tesla’s energy business has been scaling up quickly. On its Q4 2020 earnings call, the company said battery deployments increased by 83% in 2020, driven mainly by sales of the Megapack to utilities. And the potential for more expansion is enormous — Grand View Research estimates that grid-scale battery storage will become a $15 billion market by 2027. On Tesla’s 2021 Q1 earnings call, Musk predicted that the transition to electric cars will cause electricity demand to double, and the transition to electric heating systems for buildings will cause it to triple. “This is a prosperous future both for Tesla and for the utilities,” said he.
A new video from CNBC offers an in-depth look at Tesla Energy. CNBC visited one of Tesla’s Megapack sites, an installation for Pacific Electric & Gas (PG&E) in Moss Landing, California, for a first-hand look at how smart energy storage systems like Tesla’s are enabling the rapid adoption of renewable energy.
A look at PG&E’s Tesla Megapack site in Moss Landing, California and why energy storage systems like this could be the future (YouTube: CNBC)
Unlike electric cars, utility-scale energy storage is not something that has been discussed much in the popular press — except perhaps in Australia, which has suffered several embarrassing energy outages in recent years. A rapid expansion of solar power, enabled by massive battery farms provided by Tesla and others, is bringing the problem under control.
The recent cold snap in Texas, which led to widespread power outages, brought energy storage to America’s nightly news. California has also had to deal with brownouts and other power problems of late, and CNBC explains why stationary storage is becoming necessary to keep the modern electrical grid up and running.
Storage is not just about enabling renewable energy — it’s also an important tool for ensuring the reliability of the grid, smoothing out peaks in demand for power and preventing sudden surges that can overload local distribution systems. David Bissell, the CEO of the local utility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where Tesla built a massive storage system in 2017, tells CNBC that batteries are “amazing” at helping to balance energy supply and demand, because they can respond instantaneously to imbalances. “We had our best reliability ever last year,” he says.
Tesla isn’t the only player in energy storage — venerable electronics giants such as Toshiba, Siemens, Panasonic, General Electric and ABB, as well as utilities such as NextEra Energy, are also claiming pieces of what’s shaping up as a large and lucrative pie.
Demand for storage is being driven both from below and above — governments around the world are mandating energy storage as part of strategies to modernize electrical grids. China has made storage part of its plan to get 16.5% percent of its energy from solar and wind by 2025. California launched a major energy storage program in 2014. The Biden Administration’s energy plan calls for $100 billion of investment in upgrades to the grid, including storage.
For companies that can move quickly to join the transformation of the world’s electrical grid, it looks like a prosperous future indeed.
For the second time, a judge strikes down Elon Musk’s $55 billion Tesla CEO pay package as the company struggles to avoid seeing its sales slip year over year for the first time. Plus: an all-new look for Jaguar this Giving Tuesday on Quick Charge!
We’ve also got record EV sales from both Kia and Hyundai, with the latter seeing IONIQ 5 sales double over last year, more Tesla discounts in China AND North America, and more.
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“Tesla could not meet program standards” on Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, so EVgo took over.
As Electrek originally reported in April, Oklahoma approved more than $8 million in federal funds for Tesla, Love’s Travel Stops, and Francis Energy to build DC fast chargers along its interstates.
The three companies were to provide a combined $7 million in private funding match to build 13 DC fast charging stations. The first round of awards would complete the buildout of I-35, I-40, and I-44 as Alternative Fuel Corridors.
Tesla was supposed to install three Superchargers at the I-44 exit 240 in Catoosa, the I-40 exit 240B in Henryetta, and the I-44 exit 125B in Oklahoma City. In order to qualify for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program funding, they had to be equipped with Magic Docks – that is, CCS compatibility.
However, OK Energy Today reports that Oklahoma Transportation Commissioners unanimously approved replacing Tesla with second-place EVgo yesterday.
Jared Schennesen, multi-modal division manager to the nine commissioners, said:
Tesla could not meet program standards for the gap awarded along I-44 in Oklahoma City.
Due to not meeting the program requirements, ODOT required that the award be revoked from Tesla as direct[ed] by state procurement rules and awarded to second-place finisher EVgo for this gap.
Schennesen didn’t specify exactly how Tesla couldn’t meet the program standards, but the article goes on to note that EVgo reduced its costs considerably compared to what Tesla’s project costs were:
EVgo won the award for a total of $519,740, and Schennesen said it reduced the total project cost by $317,932. The federal share of the project will increase by $201,781 bringing the final total to $801,780.
EVgo has more than 1,000 DC fast charging locations in 40 states and serves over 65 metropolitan areas.
Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, EVOK, is responsible for spending $66 million from 2022-27 in NEVI Formula Program funds to create a state EV charging network. The federal NEVI program allocates $5 billion over five years to help US states create a network of EV charging stations. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The NEVI program requires EV charging stations to be available every 50 miles and within one travel mile of the Alternative Fuel Corridor. EV charging stations must include at least four ports with connectors capable of simultaneously charging four EVs at 150 kilowatts (kW) each, with a total station power capacity of 600 kW or more.
The charging stations must have 24-hour public accessibility and provide amenities like restrooms, food and beverage, and shelter.
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) says it will loan up to $7.54 billion to a Stellantis and Samsung SDI joint venture to help build two EV lithium-ion battery plants in Indiana.
Stellantis + Samsung EV battery plants loan
The joint venture is called StarPlus Energy LLC, and its huge project will create huge job growth: at least 2,800 jobs at the plants, plus hundreds more for parts suppliers at a nearby park.
At full capacity, the plants will produce about 67 GWh of batteries for Stellantis EVs in Kokomo, enough to supply about 670,000 vehicles annually, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office said. Stellantis said yesterday that the first plant will open in early 2025 and the second in 2027.
To secure the loan, StarPlus needs to implement its Community Benefits Plan, which includes working with community and labor leaders to create well-paying jobs. It’s unclear whether the loan will be able to be finalized before Donald Trump takes office on January 20, but according to the Associated Press, the DOE said “it would be irresponsible for ‘any government to turn its back on private sector partners, states, and communities that are benefiting from lower energy costs and new economic opportunities’ from the loans.”
Electrek’s Take
Since Trump is threatening tariffs all over the place to stimulate domestic manufacturing, it would be pretty dumb if he attempted to kill this loan. The DOE anticipates this and makes a point of saying in its announcement that “the project will greatly expand EV battery manufacturing capacity in North America and reduce America’s reliance on adversarial foreign nations like China, as well as other foreign sourcing of EV batteries.”
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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