Tesla’s giant battery in SoCal will power 2,500 homes or 1,000 cars a day

By Miles Branman Published September 15, 2016

With all the buzz about Tesla’s vehicle offerings, it is easy to forget that the brand has a blossoming energy storage business. And if the latest report from The Verge proves true, Tesla just hit the motherload of power supply deals.

Southern California Edison’s Mira Loma center has commissioned Tesla to build a 20 MWh (megawatt/hour) to 80 MWh power storage facility in Ontario, California. Tesla says the finished product will generate juice for 2,500 homes or 1,000 cars per day.

Recommended Videos

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he thought the stationary energy storage business would “have a growth rate probably several times that of what the car business is per year.” Guess that was not a bluff.

Read More: Tesla’s In-Car Camera Retains Accident Footage

The root of the technology is Tesla’s Powerpack industrial energy storage system, which is built in Sparks, Nevada, at the company’s Gigafactory. Tesla bid against several other suppliers in the wake of Aliso Canyon’s gas leak. California Governor Jerry Brown demanded a shift from natural gas and put the California Public Utilities Commission in charge of the transition.

Before the Aliso Canyon gas leak disaster, California had plans for 1,325 megawatts of energy storage by 2020, but that goal may be expanded.

The Tesla storage facility and competitors will ‘time shift’ electricity to peak hours of consumption. The goal here is to build enough energy from off-peak hours to lessen the need for additional power plants to come online during times of greater demand.

Tesla has promised the project will be installed by the end of the year, but did not say how much it is netting from the deal. One thing is for sure: Tesla can use all the additional income it can get as it looks to grow its electric vehicle business. With thousands of Model 3 orders to fill and the risk of losing orders should there be any delays, energy storage deals are undoubtedly far more pertinent to investors.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Miles Branman doesn't need sustenance; he needs cars. While the gearhead gene wasn't strong in his own family, Miles…

Branded Content

Dashlane simplifies digital credential management for people, teams and businesses

Dashlane credential management tool for teams featured image

Have you ever considered a credential management tool for your team or business? Allow me to explain. When it comes to digital and online safety, something you hear often is never to share your credentials, account details, or passwords with anyone. You're not supposed to share account details or passwords, even with people you know well. That's not necessarily because they can't be trusted, it's more that you never know how someone else will handle your sensitive information. If they stow it somewhere easily accessible, like in a plain text document on their desktop, it weakens your security and makes your accounts more vulnerable. Plus, there’s no telling who they’ll share that information with.

Keeping your logins to yourself is also how you’re advised to protect professional or business accounts in the workplace. But it makes things more difficult, especially when you’re working with a team. Sometimes, you need tool or platform logins to be available to everyone. There is a much better way to administrate password sharing, and most importantly, it doesn’t compromise security. The answer is a digital credential management tool like Dashlane.

Branded Content

Thanks to Squarespace Refresh website building has never been more intuitive

squarespace refresh makes web building intuitive featured image

When it comes to building and designing your own website, from scratch, there is a lot of trial and error involved. Believe me, I've been there. But what's more important as an entrepreneur and when you're trying to present your business, big or small, is that the presentation has to be decidedly professional. It needs to be attractive and user-friendly, with easy access to everything that's most important for your business. Whether that's a section to browse available products, checkout, learn more about you and the team, or something else entirely. It's a lot of work and requires a lot of time invested. It's so much easier to have a templatized and convenient builder handy.

That's precisely where you can turn to something like Squarespace, which makes it so much easier to build the website of your dreams. But even more exciting is Squarespace's 2024 Refresh announcement. A product showcase, the brand says it creates a "new era for entrepreneurs." From new design tools with AI-powered features to enhanced business solutions to bring your business websites to the next level, the goal is to elevate your experiences and those of your visitors or customers. Let's take a closer look.

Computing

The 10 best VPN services for 2024, reviewed by experts

Surfshark VPN on Mac protecting user data.

You rely on the internet to stay connected to friends, family, and coworkers, monitor the news, shop, pay bills, and more. That makes privacy and security more important than ever, and a virtual private network (VPN) is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to hide your location and safeguard your online activities from unwanted network intruders.

But if you're having trouble choosing the right VPN service for your budget and security needs, don't worry: We can help. Below, you'll find a list of the best VPNs around. Our comprehensive guide to the best VPN services covers pricing, features, and all the information you need to make an informed decision.