For the first time, homes on Alaska‘s Kenai Peninsula will no longer have to rely solely on gas turbines after Tesla installed 37 Megapack to provide power for the winter months.
The Kenai Peninsula is an isolated area of Alaska which is cut off from the mainland power support for up to four months every year.
Before the installation of the Tesla Megapack system, the residents were reliant on hydro and gas.
The local power supplier, Homer Electric, used gas turbines to distribute power to the grid.
However, Homer Electric has taken a big step forward for the community, installing the 37 Tesla Megapacks for energy storage and turning them on earlier this month.
The 93 MWh system will provide voltage support, enhance grid stability and reduce gas burn in sub-zero temperatures.
The hope is that the Megapack system can help alleviate the number of power outages the community faces.
This winter alone, the company faced two major outages. In November, 2,700 people lost power. While another outage in December affected 7,000 people.
Although this might not seem major, temperatures can plunge lower than -30°C in the winter.
Tesla released their video on the project, and you can check it out below, or at tesla.com/videos/alaska-megapack.
UPDATE Mar 8: Tesla has now added the video to their YouTube channel.
Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula will no longer rely on gas turbines to distribute power to the community up to 4 months/year. Homer Electric installed 37 Tesla Megapacks, providing grid stability even in freezing temperatures of -30°F @TeslaCharging @elonmusk @Tesla pic.twitter.com/TzlJGglofT
— Gail Alfar (@GailAlfarATX) February 25, 2022
