Energy
Tesla Powerpack batteries help Philippines town end longtime power crisis
Tesla has deployed its Powerpack batteries to the Philippines, helping a local solar company construct a 2MW/2MWh micro-grid for the town of Paluan, which has been suffering from notorious power outages for years. The project went online back in December, giving the town round-the-clock electric power for the first time.
To complete the project, Tesla partnered with local renewable energy company Solar Philippines. According to a report from Energy Storage News, Solar Philippines believes that the 2MW/2MWh will be enough to provide reliable power to the town’s residents 24 hours a day, at 50% less than the usual electricity costs. A 2MW diesel generator is on standby as well, ready to provide extra power when the need arises.
Solar Philippines founder Leandro Leviste believes that the Powerpack installation in Paluan would be the first of many renewable solutions in the country. The Solar Phils. executive further noted that “there is no reason” why other towns in the country would not follow suit, considering the cost benefits offered by solar-battery installations.
Tesla Powerpacks were installed on a small town in the Philippines. The term ‘brownouts’ seen in the banner is a local slang for power outages. [Credit: Solar Phils]
The benefits of the solar-battery system are notable. Thanks to the 2MW/2MWh micro-grid, the town’s residents were able to experience a Christmas absent of power outages for the first time. Schools in the area have also begun using computers. An ice plant, which would support the local fishermen, is also being planned. The town’s residents aired their gratitude to Solar Phils. and Tesla in a recent photograph, proudly declaring that there are no more power outages in the area since the batteries and solar arrays were installed.
The tiny town of Paluan, located just below the largest island in the Philippines, is home to around 16,000 people, according to a census conducted in 2015. The town is infamous for its struggles with electricity, with power outages becoming a part of its residents’ daily routines. The town first got electricity back in 1978, though the region’s grid was only able to provide power for 4 hours a day. This was improved in 2014, when the Philippines’ National Power Corporation was able to provide the town with electricity for 16 hours on a daily basis. Despite this improvement, however, power outages were still common, with some lasting for several days.
Tesla’s Powerpack systems have become game changers for areas with unstable electricity. Over the past few months, Tesla’s 100 MW/129 MWh big battery near Jamestown in South Australia had helped the region’s beleaguered energy grid hundreds of times, at one point even providing backup energy after a coal-powered plant unexpectedly experienced a power loss in December. Tesla had also announced other, more ambitious projects for the country, such as a 250 MW/650 MWh virtual power plant involving 50,000 residential units and Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries.
As we noted in a recent report, however, Tesla’s initiatives in South Australia are currently hitting roadblocks from the government, with newly-elected premier Steven Marshall stating that he would not support the company’s virtual power plant initiative. LNP senator and Minister for Resources Matt Canavan also dismissed Tesla’s efforts, calling the Powerpack farm near Jamestown the “Kim Kardashian” of energy.
Tesla Energy has become the undisputed dark horse of the electric vehicle maker. This was highlighted by Tesla Energy’s growing role in the company’s overall operations in the past quarters.
And as per Tesla’s year-end milestone posts on X, Tesla Energy had a blockbuster 2024.
Tesla Energy’s 2024 milestones:
- As per Tesla on its official social media account on X, the company has hit over 800,000 Powerwalls installed worldwide.
- From this number, over 100,000 Powerwall batteries have been enrolled in virtual power plant (VPP) programs.
- The Powerwall 3 has officially been launched in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand.
- The Tesla Megapack hit over 22 GWh in operation across more than 60 countries across the globe.
- The Lathrop Megafactory, which produces the Megapack, has been ramped to 40 GWh per year.
- The Lathrop Megafactory has also produced its 10,000th Megapack battery.
- The Shanghai Megafactory was completed in just seven months, and it is ready to start Megapack production in Q1 2025.
Hit 800k Powerwalls installed worldwide
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 31, 2024
Also:
– Over 100k Powerwalls are now enrolled in VPP programs
– Launched Powerwall 3 in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, UK, Germany, Italy, Australia & New Zealand
– Megapack hit 22+ GWh in operation across 60+ countries
– Ramped… pic.twitter.com/bE88DpeyTg
Powerwall owners’ 2024 impact:
- As per Tesla Energy, Powerwall owners generated a total of 4.5 TWh of solar energy globally in 2024. This was equivalent to powering a Model 3 for more than 17 billion miles.
- A total of 1.1 TWh of energy was stored in Powerwalls in 2024. This protected homes from over 5.8 million outages during the year.
- Tesla’s Storm Watch feature for Powerwall batteries covered 2.8 million severe weather events over the year.
- Powerwall owners saw collective savings of over $800 million on utility bills.
- Virtual Power Plants contributed over 2.2 GWh of power to the grid. This reduced the need for 2,200 metric tons of fossil fuel peaker plant emissions.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Utah-based rPlus Energies recently held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Green River Energy Center, a 400 MW solar PV and 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery storage project in Eastern Utah. Tesla Megapacks will be used as the upcoming facility’s battery storage solution.
At 400 MW/1,600 MWh, the Green River Energy Center is expected to become one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects under development in the United States. Once operational, the facility would supply power to PacifiCorp under a power purchase agreement, as noted in a press release.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared his excitement for the project during the Green River Energy Center’s groundbreaking event. As per the Utah Governor, the solar and battery storage system represents a notable step forward for the state’s sustainable energy efforts.
NEWS: rPlus Energy has just broken ground on a new $362 million @Tesla Megapack battery energy storage system in Utah.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 24, 2024
This 400 MW solar PV and 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery storage project is one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects under construction in the nation. The entire… pic.twitter.com/ubPOUnPWEf
“This project is being built in rural Utah, by rural Utahns, and for all of Utah. When rural Utah thrives, the entire state prospers. Today, we’re not just breaking ground—we’re building a future of affordable, abundant energy in Utah,” the official noted.
The Green River Energy Center secured over $1 billion in construction debt financing earlier this year. The facility is also expected to create about 500 jobs, many of which will be filled by local workers. With this in mind, the solar and battery farm would likely prove to be a boost to Emery County’s economy, enhancing tax revenue, strengthening public services, and offering long-term employment opportunities for the area’s residents.
Sundt Construction will serve as the project’s contractor, EliTe Solar will supply the solar modules, and Tesla will provide the battery storage system for the project. Luigi Resta, President and CEO of rPlus Energies, noted that the Green River Energy Center is special because of the entities that have worked together to make the facility a reality.
“It’s the partners that make this project special, that have made this monumental project possible. From our equipment providers to the onsite talent, and the support of the local and regional community, we owe this project’s success to each of you,” he stated.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla Energy is losing a director who brought Autobidder, a real-time trading and control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimization, to the company.
Rohan Ma, who has been at Tesla for just under eight years, announced he would depart the company on LinkedIn, aiming to take on a new opportunity elsewhere.
Ma posted:
“After eight years at Tesla, this will be my last week. It was a ride of a lifetime! Today, Tesla Energy is thriving and I can confidently say it’s in the best position it has ever been in to drive impact toward the original mission I signed up for. I’m proud to have contributed over the years to where it is now, and will be cheering the team on from the sidelines as they carry the torch forward and continue to relentlessly solve problems at the frontier of the energy transition.”
Ma started as the Senior Manager of Energy Optimization at Tesla back in November 2016. After four-and-a-half years at the position, he then moved on to a new role as the Director of Energy and Software Optimization. He has been in that role for over three years.
The exit of Ma is the latest in Tesla’s tough year in terms of losing high-level employees.
Earlier this year, as a part of widespread layoffs, Tesla eliminated up to 20 percent of its workforce and people like Rebecca Tinucci, who was the company’s Senior Director of EV Charging.
Tesla also lost Rohan Patel, Vice President of Global Public Policy and Business Development, and Martin Viecha, who was Head of Investor Relations, are just a few notables to depart.
Autobidder
Tesla’s Autobidder platform helps owners and operators make money by autonomously monetizing battery assets. It is a real-time trading and control platform that maximizes revenue according to business objectives and risk preferences.
Tesla Megapack, Autobidder to be deployed in big battery project in Queensland
Autobidder already has hundreds of megawatt-hours under management and continues to scale. It is hosted on Tesla’s secure cloud infrastructure that is engineered to handle large and complex computations.
Without Ma’s expertise, Autobidder would likely not be involved in Tesla’s Energy division at all, and although it is not frequently discussed, it is still a major part of the business’s growth over the past several years.
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