Humongous Tesla Battery Plant Approved In California Is 10× Bigger Than World’s Biggest Battery Plant

February 27th, 2020 by Johnna Crider

Tesla has been approved to reinvent the Moss Landing power plant in California as a battery power plant. Tesla will be bringing clean and renewable energy into the plant, which will be one of the largest — probably the largest — energy storage facility in the world. In fact, it will be approximately 10× bigger than Tesla’s Hornsdale energy storage project (1.2 GWh versus 129 MWh), which was 3× bigger than any other battery storage facility at the time it was built.

Monterey County Supervisor, John Phillips, points out that, “It’s huge for the area and as you know the power plant has been gradually shutting down and they [are] producing about one-tenth of the power they used to produce in the past and that hurts us from a tax standpoint.”

The joint project between Tesla and PG&E to build a facility to store wind and solar power was unanimously approved by the Monterey County Planning Commission. Tesla will install a Megapack to store wind and solar power. This stored energy will be available for use during periods of high energy demand and lower output.

“Certainly, combined, this is going to be the largest battery facility in the world, so it’s a big boost to our community and our country,” Phillips said. Both projects will utilize hundreds of lithium-ion batteries to store clean and renewable energy. They will also use the existing power lines to transmit the energy around Monterey County and parts of Silicon Valley.

This morning Monterey unanimously approved the installation of a Tesla Megapack in Moss Landing to store wind and solar power and then make it available for use during periods of high energy demand. It will be one of the largest energy storage facilities in the world. @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/9NCruv9DbJ — Third Row Podcast (@thirdrowtesla) February 27, 2020

Next month, Tesla and PG&E hope to break ground on their project with hopes that it will be completed by the end of this year. It’s good to see this type of teamwork — Tesla and a local utility company, teaming up to better serve the community. As a leader in battery technology for the energy industry, Tesla has proven to help those using its services to save money.

In 2018, it was reported that the battery at Hornsdale made back a third of its cost in a year. Just last year, the Tesla battery at Hornsdale earned its largest monthly revenue from wholesale markets — $3.4 million. Currently, the largest lithium-ion battery in the world is still this one at the Hornsdale Power Reserve. However, as noted at the top, this Moss Landing project will be approximately 10 times larger.

The latest news reminds us of something we already knew: the future with Tesla in the battery and energy industry is exciting for sure.

Related Tesla webpage: Tesla Megapack.

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