Tesla to Build Large Battery for Texas Grid That Store Energy for 20,000 Homes

Bloomberg News announced this morning that Elon Musk plans to build a massive battery that will connect to the Texas grid.

According to the report, Gambit Energy Storage LLC, a Tesla Inc subsidiary, is constructing a 100-megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas. The report also states the battery could power up to 20,000 homes during peak summer months.

This comes just days after a winter storm knocked out roughly half of the state’s generating plants, causing hundreds of deaths and driving power prices up to ten times their usual price.

When electricity rates are low, the battery is set to charge from the grid and then discharge when the electric device runs out of power. According to local authorities, the battery may help restore the local electric grid by supplying energy to jump-start electric generators after a blackout or natural disaster.

Plus Power proposed the project in Angleton, a town of about 3,000 residents about 40 miles south of Houston. The renewables company confirmed to Bloomberg that the Angleton project had been sold but did not name the buyer.

The project will link to the grid via the existing Angleton Substation, according to the documents, and would use “tested, reliable, and secure lithium-ion batteries.”

They stated that the facility would be unmanned and remotely controlled, with “no emissions of any kind.” It will be set back from houses at least 150 feet and surrounded by “substantial natural vegetation.”

Officials say, “The Energy Storage Park would strengthen Angleton’s energy independence and resiliency for decades into the future.”

This announcement comes following Musk’s statement about forming a new city called Starbase at SpaceX’s launch facilities in Texas.