Which two Supercharger locations have grid storage already?

[DaveT]

In the latest Supercharger announcement Elon Musk noted:
Q: So how many of the Grid Storage units do you have out there, and how big are they?
We've got 2 in operation right now. They are pretty sizable. Half a Megawatt Hour, and they're capable of putting out a Megawatt if need be.
Q: Where are they located?
Actually, I'd rather not say where they are located, because I'd rather not have people go and fudging around with them. I'll tell you they're in California...

So, my question is which two Supercharger locations in California have the grid storage? Also, do those two locations both have the obelisk and platform beneath it? Can someone post recent pictures of the obelisk and platform beneath it? (I'd like to see it as close as possible because my suspicion is that the obelisk/platform is a battery swap station.)

 

[jeff_adams]

Here is the one at Hawthorne.

My guess is the other one is in Freemont. If you're going to have grid storage, you would certainly like to have it at company headquarters. It also lets them run all kinds of tests to the system.



Only question I have, does Freemont have solar panels?

 

[MikeC]

I think Tejon Ranch and Hawthorne are the two that have solar. And the two places with grid storage are connected to solar. Not sure how Elon thinks this is a secret.

Fremont doesn't have a Supercharger.

 

[RandyS]

I think Tejon Ranch and Hawthorne are the two that have solar. And the two places with grid storage are connected to solar. Not sure how Elon thinks this is a secret.

Fremont doesn't have a Supercharger.

Fremont may not have a "public" Supercharger, but they definitely put my car on a Supercharger to get it ready for me to drive after pickup (because it wasn't fully charged when I arrived and they charged it up fast).

 

[SFOTurtle]

Fremont may not have a "public" Supercharger, but they definitely put my car on a Supercharger to get it ready for me to drive after pickup (because it wasn't fully charged when I arrived and they charged it up fast).

If it was in one of the delivery bays at the factory when it was charging, that was a HPWC and not a SC that was charging your car on delivery.

 

[Lloyd]

Fremont may not have a "public" Supercharger, but they definitely put my car on a Supercharger to get it ready for me to drive after pickup (because it wasn't fully charged when I arrived and they charged it up fast).

Fremont has a two bay supercharger in the service area, but not for public use.

 

[DaveT]

Does Hawthorne or Tejon Ranch stations have space next to the obelisk for a car to park and do a battery swap (ie, if the batteries were in the platform of the obelisk)?

 

[Lloyd]

Not to my knowledge. Charged at both many times

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

The idea that the batteries are in the obelisk is just speculation, and likely wrong. They can't fit 500kWh of storage in there. Maybe in the base it sits on, but again, I seriously doubt it.

It's not clear to me that any of the existing SuperChargers have a CES. It would be too hard to miss, and the hyper vigilant and educated folks here on TMC would have found it already.

If these are swap facilities, they are just going to look something like a brand new automated car wash that has been built recently, but hasn't opened for public use yet. Located on a major highway here in California, and probably not at a location that we have tracked down through permits yet, or again, we would have pictures of it up already.

If these are not swap facilities, then I would expect a large electrical box (think green), about the size of a small backyard shed. They probably also need the yellow electrical hazard signs on them. I see no particular reason for it to look like a non-functional piece of artwork. Tesla will need to be able to expand capacity, so these need to be easy to build, and they need to be able to vent heat so they can keep the batteries cool.

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Not to my knowledge. Charged at both many times

Yes, the lack of suitability or preparation for swapping facilities is a giant gaping hole in the swapping hypothesis. If the evidence in favor of it wasn't so overwhelming I'd have moved on by now.

 

[apacheguy]

I think Tejon Ranch and Hawthorne are the two that have solar. And the two places with grid storage are connected to solar. Not sure how Elon thinks this is a secret.

This is indeed correct. Hawthorne and Tejon are the only stations with grid storage.

 

[FredTMC]

This is indeed correct. Hawthorne and Tejon are the only stations with grid storage.

i walked around the transformers at Tejon (behind the cinderblock wall). I didn't see anything resembling a battery storage box.

Maybe one of us should take another look. Post pics please.

 

[apacheguy]

Don't have pics but I definitely 100% saw a unit clearly labeled "Battery Storage System" at Tejon. If that isn't grid storage then I don't know what is.

 

[Rla]

If these are swap facilities, they are just going to look something like a brand new automated car wash that has been built recently, but hasn't opened for public use yet. Located on a major highway here in California, and probably not at a location that we have tracked down through permits yet, or again, we would have pictures of it up already.

If these are not swap facilities, then I would expect a large electrical box (think green), about the size of a small backyard shed. They probably also need the yellow electrical hazard signs on them. I see no particular reason for it to look like a non-functional piece of artwork. Tesla will need to be able to expand capacity, so these need to be easy to build, and they need to be able to vent heat so they can keep the batteries cool.

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Yes, the lack of suitability or preparation for swapping facilities is a giant gaping hole in the swapping hypothesis. If the evidence in favor of it wasn't so overwhelming I'd have moved on by now.

If it will be swapping; remember that Elon said there will be a Live Demonstration.
So I take it that this will be shown in Fremont, or at another Tesla production facility. This will not be an announcement of the swapping stations being ready or being build. So I would not start looking for possible locations for swapping stations.

Hope to be totally wrong on this.

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Don't have pics but I definitely 100% saw a unit clearly labeled "Battery Storage System" at Tejon. If that isn't grid storage then I don't know what is.

good enough excuse to drive up there with the Model S and take some pics.

 

[RandyS]

If it was in one of the delivery bays at the factory when it was charging, that was a HPWC and not a SC that was charging your car on delivery.

They had not yet put my car in one of the delivery bays, and told me that they would Supercharge it before bringing it up.

Short version of a long story. My delivery was moved up one week in early May, but the word from the Delivery Specialist somehow didn't make it to the folks at the Customer Delivery Center. So when I showed up, the car wasn't ready. No big deal, they prepped it very quickly and definitely put it on the Supercharger in the back before driving it into the bay to go over it with me...That charging session is now showing up on my screen with the new software as well...

 

[brianman]

The idea that the batteries are in the obelisk is just speculation, and likely wrong. They can't fit 500kWh of storage in there. Maybe in the base it sits on, but again, I seriously doubt it.

"That's what the Illuminati want you to think."

 

[Lloyd]

I believe the Granite base, and the reflecting pool were there long before Tesla was!

 

[Larry Chanin]

The idea that the batteries are in the obelisk is just speculation, and likely wrong. They can't fit 500kWh of storage in there. Maybe in the base it sits on, but again, I seriously doubt it.[...]

If these are not swap facilities, then I would expect a large electrical box (think green), about the size of a small backyard shed. They probably also need the yellow electrical hazard signs on them. I see no particular reason for it to look like a non-functional piece of artwork. Tesla will need to be able to expand capacity, so these need to be easy to build, and they need to be able to vent heat so they can keep the batteries cool.

It should be noted that Tesla has to work with local public utilities in implementing their grid storage solution. Public utilities are very conservative organizations, and I wonder whether their engineering departments would even permit a start-up automobile company to install .5-1.0 MWh of Tesla's own design to the utility's grid. Some are assumming that Tesla is simply going to use their existing mobile battery technology for the grid storage solution. However, this is a stationary application that doesn't need expensive light weight batteries.

So if Tesla is partnering with a utility to demonstrate the feasibility of Supercharger grid storage, a turn-key approach using another mature partner with grid storage experience might be the way to go during this initial phase.

GE has a scalable grid storage product that starts out as the size of a small shed, 97"x43"x180" (hxwxl) and goes from there.

Durathon Battery Energy Storage Systems

Larry

 

[MikeC]

i walked around the transformers at Tejon (behind the cinderblock wall). I didn't see anything resembling a battery storage box.

Maybe one of us should take another look. Post pics please.

My impression is that the area that the wall encircles at Tejon seems significantly bigger than the area needed for the Superchargers at Harris Ranch.

 

[FredTMC]

Don't have pics but I definitely 100% saw a unit clearly labeled "Battery Storage System" at Tejon. If that isn't grid storage then I don't know what is.

Very nice!

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Better than pics -

No photo's of a sign saying battery, but there were big racks for expansion in that walled area that could be filled with batteries now.

Go to the 2 minute mark.