By the end of this year, Tesla Motors will launch what it calls "the largest lithium ion battery storage project in the world" in California.

Tesla Energy Powerpacks all wrapped up and ready to go at the company's Gigafactoy in Nevada (via Kman Auto)

The 20 MW / 80 MWh Tesla Powerpack facility was ordered by Southern California Edison to address peak energy demand, after a catastrophic rupture in the Aliso Canyon natural gas reservoir.

According to press release (fully attached below) Tesla won the contract through competitive process.

Huge production capacity at Gigafactory will enable the company to manufacture all the batteries within three month's time - which is still not too much for this early stage of Tesla Gigafactory, but a "feather in the cap" on the achievement of producing largest ESS in the world.

Each Powerpack is rated at about 100 kWh of storage, so some 800 will be required to complete the project. The raw cost of each unit via Tesla's "Build your Powerpack System" app, shows pricing of $44,500 per unit...but we suspect Southern Cal got more than a substantial discount in this case.

80 MWh is estimated to handle 2,500 households for a day or charge 1,000 Tesla vehicles.

A Cluster Of Tesla Energy Powerpacks - Utility and Business Energy Storage System

Full press release: