Earlier this year Tesla applied with the City of Austin to build a massive Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and Switchyard at Giga Texas. The facility would store energy generated from the factory’s solar panels and help Giga Texas achieve its goal of becoming a net-zero facility.
After going through the review process, Tesla received approval to build the BESS and Switchyard last week.
According to documents on the Austin Build + Connect website, Tesla’s permit was issued on August 9, 2022 and will expire on August 9, 2025. Teslarati first reported on the approval.
According to the approved permit, the site is 53.27 acres in size. The permit does not describe or provide details on how many Megapacks will be installed or what the energy storage capacity of the system will be, but it will likely be one of, if not the largest Megapack installations in North America and possibly the world.
Earlier this year the company released a video highlighting the 81 Megapacks providing 200MWh of energy in Angleton, Texas.
While the permit expires in three years, Tesla will have the improvements built well before then. In fact, they have already started working on the site.
Over the last few months drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer has been documenting progress of the BESS and Switchyard at the northern end of the factory complex, along with a massive new substation. The land for the new substation has been cleared and prepped, and work has recently begun to do the same for where the Megapacks will be located.
You can check out the latest drone flyover of Giga Texas, including views of the future BESS and Switchyard in the video below.
