As Texas hits 112F, here’s how big battery storage is keeping the grid online
As the brutal heat wave in Texas continues, Electrek spoke with Julia Souder, CEO of the global nonprofit Long Duration Energy Storage Council, about how big battery storage is helping to keep the Texas grid online.
Electrek: How is big battery storage helping to keep the Texas grid up and running in the extreme heat?
Texas is experiencing another historic heat wave. Solar, wind, and batteries are critical for keeping the lights on by providing the power, flexibility, and stability to keep the grid running effectively.
In recent weeks, the ERCOT energy grid has seen a peak in demand, from the drawing down of 81,000 MW of power, surpassing the previous record in winter 2021. However, unlike those winter storms that left millions without power, the grid in Texas has not yet had a blackout because of the recent scaling of renewable energy and energy storage that provides clean power as gas and coal plants were taken offline.
When long-duration energy storage (LDES) is paired with renewable energy, critical applications can stay online during times of extreme strain on the grid. LDES provides the flexibility, resiliency, and reliability needed to ensure the power stays on for hours, days, and even longer.
Electrek: To what extent is big battery storage being used in Texas, and why is it successful (or not)?
While there are LDES pilots in the works in Texas, at the moment, there is not much LDES deployed at scale – and this is the problem. As more renewable energy comes online to help decarbonize and electrify communities, LDES is needed to provide flexibility during peak demand periods over multiple hours, days, and seasons to ensure a reliable source of power where energy shifting is necessary.
LDES is already supporting energy systems abroad, and the LDES Council anticipates a scale of up to 600 GW by 2040 in the US, aligning with the recommendations in the US Department of Energy’s Liftoff report on long-duration energy storage.
Electrek: How are policy and regulation key for LDES expansion, and what happens if a state’s legislature passes laws in favor of fossil fuels over clean energy and LDES?
Over the next five years, Texas is expected to account for nearly a quarter of US grid-scale batteries. Policy to support and expand this growth is critical. Key decision-makers must consider setting an LDES target to spur market growth and provide certainty. Texas can use LDES tax incentives as well as create a road map for developers and investors to bring a multitude of LDES benefits, including cost savings, to communities.
Acknowledging the benefits of LDES is also critical, including capacity value, grid support, and ancillary services. Some LDES technologies can be added to the grid without complicated permitting, while other LDES projects will benefit from streamlining and simplifying permitting processes. Doing so will see much-needed acceleration.
Texas leadership must push forward strong policies supporting the diverse LDES technologies that service many aspects of the Texas economy.
Electrek: What is the LDES market going to look like in the future?
The LDES market has huge opportunities for growth. However, it’s more than a power generation asset; it’s also a transmission asset. Where transmission and distribution lines are too congested, LDES will provide relief, as well as defer costs.
Texas is currently leading the way for utility-scale solar installation that will need LDES in order to ensure there is 24/7 clean power and cost reductions. It’s essential to the clean energy transition, and now is the time to support its deployment and ensure the removal of barriers that could prevent LDES from being used to its full potential.
Julia Souder is the CEO of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. She has over 22 years of experience in the energy and environmental sectors. She has been a longtime advocate of clean energy technology, working extensively to support environmentally friendly technologies and equitable policies. Previously she held senior positions at the LDES Association of California, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Clean Line Energy Partners, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the US Department of Energy (DOE), and as an entrepreneur at JAS Energies LLC.
Photo: Jupiter Power
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to 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.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
![Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/54629423281_6315c46dff_k.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
Stay tuned for more!
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.
The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
Source Links
Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. 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. It has 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 Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.
Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.
Last year, Tesla announced a new project called ‘Oasis’, which consists of a new model Supercharger station with a solar farm and battery storage enabling off-grid operations in Lost Hills, California.
Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:
The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.
The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.
It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.
With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.
Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.
The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike