BYD helping light up Las Vegas with renewables using massive 543 MWh energy storage system

BYD has announced plans to implement a 543 MWh Cube Pro liquid-cooled energy storage system (ESS) in Las Vegas, expected to begin commercial operation before year’s end. The Chinese automaker and battery specialist shared that the massive ESS will assist Nevada’s largest energy provider in achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. Vegas, baby.

Build Your Dreams, aka BYD, is a China-based conglomerate consisting of two major subsidiaries, BYD Electronic and BYD Auto, which manufacture several electric vehicles we have covered on Electrek. Furthermore, the automotive division develops and implements adjacent technologies such as solar panels, EV batteries, and renewable bulk storage like the energy storage system seen below.

While BYD Auto expands the availability of its EV models outside of China and into Europe and the UK, the company’s energy division continues to expand its footprint in the US. In May of 2022, BYD implemented a GWh-level solar energy storage plant in North America with the help of its CUBE T28.

By November, BYD had installed what is described as the world’s largest single-phase energy storage plant on the West Coast of the US – again utilizing the CUBE T28 and a storage capacity of approximately 1.7 GWh.

CnEVPost points out that as of October 2022, BYD was reporting roughly 3.6 GWh of cumulative power in the US. As part of a new deal with the state of Nevada, BYD looks to add to this storage total in hopes to help light the neons of Las Vegas using more renewable sources.

BYD launches energy project in Las Vegas

According to a press release from BYD, it has begun the process to install a 543 Mega-Watt-hour (MWh) Cube Pro system in Las Vegas to assist the state’s largest energy provider. The Chinese company did not mention the specific customer by name, but CnEVPost points out that Nevada’s #1 provider of power is NV Energy, owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Coincidentally (or not), Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Energy own BYD shares dating back 15 years, although the famed billionaire reduced his stake for the first time last summer and has continued since. BYD states that its Cube Pro coming to Las Vegas is a battery storage system that can be charged daily using renewable sources like wind and solar, which then stores its supply to use later during peak grid demands.

BYD also points out that the BYD Cube Pro has 80% higher energy density than its T28 predecessor and is compatible with all global energy standards. In fact, BYD states it is the first product in China to pass the global UL9540A test, used by hundreds of large-scale energy storage projects around the globe.

BYD’s senior director of energy storage business development Liu Wendi said the upcoming energy project will not only benefit residents in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, but others throughout Nevada as well. Construction is expected to begin in Q2 and be operational before the end of 2023.