Photo: Eckhart Gouras
Tesla is building a large battery to connect Texas to the grid. The construction of the facility with a capacity of more than 100 megawatts comes amid problems with major power outages that occurred in the state in February.
Tesla is entering the Texas electricity market with an undisclosed construction of a giant battery plugged into the grid, according to BNN Bloomberg. Tesla's subsidiary, registered as Gambit Energy Storage LLC, is building over 100 megawatts of energy storage in Angleton, Texas, about 40 miles south of Houston. A battery of this size could power about 20,000 homes with the HVAC turned on.
BNN Bloomberg reports that although the construction of the project was kept under wraps, workers at the site wore Tesla logo helmets, and official documents helped confirm the company's role in it. Gambit Energy Storage LLC is listed as a Tesla subsidiary in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In February, winter storms hit Texas and left millions of people without electricity for several days. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was one of those impacted, as he and his family were there. Also, the construction of the Tesla factory near Austin was stopped for several days. Tesla became one of those who helped the local population by donating and delivering food and essentials.
The battery storage system, created by Tesla's subsidiary Gambit, is registered with Ercot. Warren Lasher, senior director of systems planning at Ercot, said the commercial operation of the project is scheduled for June 1. The site is adjacent to the Texas-New Mexico substation.
The Gambit project was originally developed by San Francisco-based Plus Power, a privately-held renewable energy company that has batteries in several states. The project brief, available on the city's website, includes images of Tesla batteries for utilities, and some of Plus Power's core employees who previously worked at Tesla.
© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
