By Michael Elkins
Electric vehicle leader Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE:PCG) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday at their Moss Landing electric substation in California to usher in a new clean energy storage system dubbed the Elkhorn Battery. The Elkhorn Battery is a 182.5-megawatt Tesla Megapack battery energy storage system.
The system became fully operational in April, was designed, and is maintained by both PG&E and Tesla, and is owned and operated by PG&E. The battery has the capacity to store and dispatch as much as 730 megawatt-hours of energy to the California power grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 megawatts for up to four hours during periods of high demand. That’s enough to power 225,000 homes.
“This is just the next step in bringing clean energy, and a bright and prosperous future for all Californians,” PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday.
The Elkhorn Battery’s value lies in its ability to integrate affordable clean energy into California’s grid, which, in turn, enhances the reliability of statewide energy supply, PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty explained ahead of Monday’s ceremony.
“It’s a win-win-win,” Doherty said. “It’s more affordable energy, it’s cleaner energy, and it helps the state in meeting the needs of the grid, you know, especially in periods like the summertime peak demand when there’s potential shortages of energy.”