Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Tesla Megapack Battery Storage

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
#2
There was a comment on that story speculating about 1 MWh of battery and an integrated 200kW inverter all packaged in one big box. I agree, with the small exception that there will probably be an option for 400kW inverter for 2.5 hr runtime instead of 5 hr runtime. Maybe round up to 250kW / 500kW for 4hr / 2hr runtimes.
 
#13
182.5-megawatt energy storage system in Northern California that was designed and constructed in a partnership between Tesla and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is now operational, the utility announced Monday. The system includes 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs and has the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt hours of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 megawatts per hour during periods of high demand, PG&E said in a statement.
 
#14
mspohr said:
182.5-megawatt energy storage system in Northern California that was designed and constructed in a partnership between Tesla and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is now operational, the utility announced Monday. The system includes 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs and has the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt hours of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 megawatts per hour during periods of high demand, PG&E said in a statement.
Click to expand...
A report mentioned that the adjacent 400MWh phase I & II Vistra site with LG batteries that suffered fires in Sept. 2021 and Feb 2022 due to overheating batteries are still offline...MTBF anyone?

www.mercurynews.com

PG&E’s Tesla Megapack battery energy storage system goes online in Moss Landing

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced on Monday that Elkhorn Battery, named for its location at its Moss Landing electric substation in Monterey County near Elkhorn Slough, has been commissioned a…
www.mercurynews.com www.mercurynews.com
 
#15
BGbreeder said:
A report mentioned that the adjacent 400MWh phase I & II Vistra site with LG batteries that suffered fires in Sept. 2021 and Feb 2022 due to overheating batteries are still offline...MTBF anyone?

www.mercurynews.com

PG&E’s Tesla Megapack battery energy storage system goes online in Moss Landing

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced on Monday that Elkhorn Battery, named for its location at its Moss Landing electric substation in Monterey County near Elkhorn Slough, has been commissioned a…
www.mercurynews.com www.mercurynews.com
Click to expand...
Looks like they're still trying to figure out how to get it back online.

The Vistra Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage Facility uses LG Energy Solution batteries and is located adjacent to the Tesla Megapack Elkhorn Battery storage system.

Both Phase I and II of the Vistra storage system at Moss Landing have been shut down since September 2021 and February 2022 respectively. The cause of both incidents was reportedly overheating batteries that activated the sprinkler systems. The company is further investigating and taking action to mitigate the possibility of similar future events. There were no injuries or fatalities in either incident.

Vistra Energy is preparing to expand its Moss Landing battery energy storage facility further with the 350 MW phase III, as agreement contracts with PG&E have been met, and pending approval of the agreements by the California Public Utilities Commission.
 
#16
Yes. What caught my eye was "...overheating batteries that activated the sprinkler systems...", which I think is also known as caught fire. If it was just hot, I would think that the SOP would be to kill the power, goose the fans, and perhaps open up the cabinets.

Pouring water on high energy electrical systems seems to be a drastic measure and not to be undertaken lightly. A report after the second fire mentioned that "...ten battery racks were completely melted...".
pv-magazine-usa.com

The world’s largest lithium ion battery is down, again

The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility Phase II set off fire alarms that activated a fault water suppression system, which - again - set off a cascading set of events that resulted in roughly ten battery packs melting down.
pv-magazine-usa.com pv-magazine-usa.com

The article is filled with juicy bits, including blaming the fire on the failure of a single fan bearing, and saying that the damage was made worse because their sprinkler system was so poorly constructed (and designed by the sound of it) that water leaked from the sprinkler pipes causing additional arcing and shorting. Having multiple single point failures causing meltdowns from well known and well established technologies, like fan bearings and plumbing, speaks to pretty high levels of incompetence in design and execution in my book.

There have been chips around for years that monitor fan bearings and do useful things like shutting the fan off and setting an alarm. Dirt cheap.

I find it hard to believe that PG&E is going forward with phase III, given the failures in the phase I and II units.

All the best,

BG
 
  • Informative
Reactions: mspohr
#17
Singuy said:
New megapack products are live with 50% more energy. Some people are speculating these are LFP celled megapacks.

Dimensions are bigger:

  • Longer by 6 foot (27%)
  • Wider by 2 inches (3%)
  • Taller by 1 foot (17%)
  • Weighs 33,000 lb more (64% increase)
64% heavier for 50% more energy = lower energy density cells in the new version
Price per MWh of storage went down by 16% compared to previous version.

(these thoughts and specs were copied from reddit)
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BGbreeder
#18
Interesting news item. I would be curious to know if the change is cost, or fire risk driven.

That is over routine (Fed. DOT) permissible trucking weights (80,000lbs), but that's what you would want for maximum installation efficiency. (Weight listed as 83,996lbs)

All the best,

BG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Skotty
Long Term Battery Costs, Fears, and Serviceability
Replies
45
Views
2K
Battery Discussion
chinney
chinney
Olle
  • Article
Vision for the Robotaxi Charging Network
Replies
7
Views
1K
Supercharging & Charging Infrastructure
moa999
M
marco2228
Reengineering the Roadster: Custom Battery Upgrade for the Tesla Roadster
Replies
8
Views
1K
Roadster 2008-2012
ViperDoc
ViperDoc
B
USA MY RWD has soft limited LR battery!
Replies
342
Views
27K
Model Y
Kohan
K
R
My experience upgrading from a 75 to a 100 kWh battery at EV's Republic
Replies
9
Views
2K
Model X: Battery & Charging
slazinger_7
S
Top
Back
Blog
New
Forum list
Marketplace
Menu