Tesla has a new idea it calls aggregation and it is the next step in its plan to bring renewable energy to the utility grid. The first phase of that plan is the installation of Tesla Powerpack grid scale storage units at substations throughout the area served by a utility. The second phase is linking thousands of individual Powerwall residential battery systems to provide extra storage capacity.
In partnership with Green Mountain Power, Tesla is now offering GMP customers a Powerwall battery for the bargain price of $15 a month for 10 years, or a one time charge of $1500. The normal price of a the 10 kWh Powerwall with built-in inverter is $5,500, plus installation. Up to 2,000 batteries will be provided and they will be linked together via the internet so the utility company can use some of the power stored in them to balance the utility grid and provide extra power when needed while meeting all the needs of the homeowner.
The plan is similar to what is known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems that allow the batteries in electric cars to feed power back to the grid when they are plugged in but not charging. Electric car batteries can also be used to provide power to the home if wired properly.
Electricity is a curious thing. Despite the fact that it is the energy source of choice for industry, there is not one person alive who can tell you what it is. We can describe what it does, we know how to make it, we can send it long distances, but it remains one of those things, like gravity and light, that defy a complete physical explanation. What we do know is that is ephemeral. Once created, it must be used immediately or it is wasted.
Unless we can find a way to store it, that is. Thanks to its expertise in making batteries for electric cars, Tesla is at the forefront of battery storage systems. It is building the largest and most modern battery cell manufacturing facility in the world just outside of Reno, Nevada. Between the time when the company started building cars and now, it has quietly shifted from being an automaker that also makes batteries to a battery company that also makes cars.
Utility companies operate two kinds of generating plants. One is online constantly and takes care of so-called baseload needs. The other is called a peaker plant, a facility that is brought online when the demand for electricity increases temporarily. Peaker plants are typically used during the hours of 4 pm and 8 pm when demand is highest.
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