Tesla has been given approval to reinvent the Moss Landing power plant in California as the world’s largest 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.
Media reports indicate it will be approximately 10 times bigger than Tesla’s Hornsdale energy storage facility in South Australia with the new project rated at 1.2 gigawatts hours (GWh) compared to Hornsdale’s 129 megawatt/hours (MWh), which was three times bigger than any other battery storage facility at the time it was built.
Monterey County Supervisor, John Phillips, pointed 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,” Mr Phillips said.
Both projects will utilise 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.
Next month, Tesla and PG&E hope to break ground on the project with hopes that it will be completed by the end of this year.
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 costs in a year.
Just last year, the Tesla battery at Hornsdale earned its largest monthly revenue from wholesale markets, $3.4 million.
Currently the Hornsdale Power Reserve is still the largest lithium-ion battery in the world.
However, this Moss Landing project will be approximately 10 times larger.
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