Zero Hedge-
Bloomberg has uncovered a Tesla subsidiary registered as Gambit Energy Storage LLC., is secretly building a massive 100-megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas. The introduction of the new facility could one day help integrate more solar, wind, and distributed energy resources. It also can improve the efficiency of the grid and increase capacity at peak hours.
Property documents show Gambit shares the same address as a Tesla facility near its main automobile plant in Fremont, California. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission notes Gambit as a Tesla subsidiary.
“Workers at the Texas site kept equipment under cover and discouraged onlookers, but a Tesla logo could be seen on a worker’s hard hat, and public documents helped confirm the company’s role,” Bloomberg said.
The new battery-storage system can sufficiently power 20,000 homes on a hot summer day. Tesla’s Gambit has registered with Texas’s grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the site is near a Texas-New Mexico Power substation. Commercial operations of the new power storage facility will begin as soon as June 1 and allow ERCOT to increase grid capacity when needed. read more
100 megawatts? That’s not enough to have made a difference in the last event.
…I think I saw this in a Batman movie…
https://youtu.be/lE6-oMO1R8M
“Secret facility”. Well, if we’re reading about it then it’s not secret.
As much as I dont like Tesla junk, an extra 100MW near the peak load mid day will help the entire grid out. Most do not appreciate how using nat gas fired jet engines has changed the power grid. One of the special features of a jet engine is that it goes from 0 to 100% power in 10 minutes with a modest increase in rpm, especially with variable compressor vanes. What this means is that in expectation of a peak demand, the power supplier spins up extra jet engines, ready to pounce on a peak load. But even an idling (at 5000 rpm) jet engine gobbles fuel. And takes lifetime off the engine. Battery backup at any level helps this situation. 100MW basically lets them have 2 less jet engines idling.
Good article about GE’s 747 engine turned into a generator.
https://www.ge.com/news/reports/ge-oil-gas-just-turned-worlds-largest-jet-engine-65-megawatt-power-plant
LasVegasBrad – Thanks for posting that – interesting article!
How secret can it be if we know about it?
We’ve all seen solid-state batteries fail spectacularly. This will be the same, but on a massive scale. Imagine the fire and explosion hazard this could create, not to mention the cloud of toxic fumes blown God only knows where by the wind. And the fact that it’s owned by Tesla paints a giant target on it, turning it into a magnet for mostly peaceful Pantyfa and Burn Loot Murder protests, now that they know about it.
Where does this stuff end up? I’m not allowed to put any electronics in the recycle bin. No car batteries, no chemicals and cardboard has to be bundled.
Invest in leg-irons because they’ll need a lot more of them for the sub-Saharan kids they use to mine those metals for batteries.
Wonder what will happen someday when lightning hits it?
Getting the batteries from China?
izlamo delenda est …
I read that in the past 10 years Texas has reformatted 20% of its energy grid to green energy. What did we get in return? Our power bills went up 30%
I work at a government facility we have our own 32Mw plant that’s what I work on this would be no more then a glorified ups system. At 32 Mw we cannot run 1 campus just to let ppl know peak hours we run 1/3 of a campus. But like others were saying during peak hours maybe it would help but not for the cost. Down my way we have 2 certified cold start coal plants at 1000 mW Excelon was told to stand by and not start even though those are the conditions to do so.
Large 16 cylinder diesel peaking generators can supply up to 3MW each. 100MW ain’t squat.
Why do I have this feeling that it is being subsidized by taxpayers?
Everything else Musk does is sucking off the government teet.