Many people may only know Tesla for electric cars, but the company is also heavily invested into energy storage. Advancing their position in the industry, Tesla will be supplying Megapacks to Plus Power for the Kapolei Energy Storage (KES) project in Hawaii.
The state of Hawaii has a goal to reach 100 percent green energy by 2045. The state is already leading regarding the amount of solar energy production per capita in the US. The new energy storage project will help balance when solar energy production is impossible, like when the sun is down.
Tesla has already deployed some batteries for Hawaii. For example, it collaborates with Hawaiian Electric for a virtual power plant using Powerwalls.
The new energy project will be one of the biggest battery energy storage solutions globally, with a capacity of 185 megawatts (565 MWh). Plus Power will be working with Hawaiian Electric on the project.
“Plus Power is honored and excited to work with Hawaiian Electric to implement this ground-breaking project,” said Bob Rudd, Lead Developer at Plus Power. “At 185 MW/565 MWh, the KES project will provide the scale necessary to transition away from coal and to accelerate Hawaii’s path toward 100 percent renewable energy. We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to realize this project and deliver its economic and environmental benefits to the people of Oahu.”
The Megapack is Tesla’s container-sized battery system with a maximum capacity of 3 MWh, the highest SKU from the company. One hundred fifty-eight Megapacks will be deployed in this latest project located in Oahu.
The facility is expected to be ready by September 2022, in time for the last coal-powered generating station in the state to close down. The plant is still used to maintain grid frequency.
The KES will be used to jump-start the grid on the island in case of a shutdown, according to Power Plus.
Tesla is used to huge energy storage projects like this. It was in charge of the Moss Landing project with 730 MWh capacity, which was commissioned recently. The project will eventually be expanded to over 1 GWh.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to make it clearer that the developer of the project is Plus Power, not Tesla. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
PG&E commissions Moss Landing Elkhorn BESS with 256 Tesla Megapacks
Source: Electrek
