Giga Texas’ Megapack will help keep the lights on for the coming cold winter of February 2024

October 12, 2023 Gail AlfarLeave a comment

(Austin, Texas) Big battery storage sits adjacent to one of the largest buildings in the world that we know as Giga Texas. These batteries are Megapacks and there are 68 of them.

On Oct 11, we found out in an informal reply to ERCOT from the official Tesla Megapack affiliate account that these Megapacks will be supporting the Texas grid in the upcoming freezing cold winter.

Typically in Texas, January and February are the coldest months of the year. Storm Uri took place in February 2021, and it is appropriate to expect that there will be ice and freezing temperatures again in January or February 2024.

These amazing Megapacks will be serving the Lonestar state, providing 125 MW of backup energy to the entire Texas grid, not just the Austin area or the Houston area, but rural areas as well.

The Texas grid is managed by ERCOT and every corner of the state is interconnected and can be supported by these Tesla Megapacks in the event of severe freezing temperatures.

What’s what’s even more beautiful, is that the solar panels on top of Giga Texas are harnessing in clean energy from the sun, and then that energy is being stored in these 68 Megapacks every day.

Additionally, Tesla announced that they are building another 40 MW of big battery storage for Texas, but did not release details, but it is noteworthy, as the more battery storage there is, the better.

My take is that Megapacks are the best solution in Texas at this time because they provide backup storage at zero upfront investment cost to the consumer.

The clean energy stored in Megapacks, are an optimal solution, helping all people, regardless, of where they live, in the state of Texas, keeping the lights on and saving lives. In tragic storm Uri, in 2021, my family and many others, lived through 7 days of loss of power and frozen pipes, and although we survived, the tragic death toll was 246 people in the state of Texas.

Looking forward let’s hope that everybody stays safe and enjoys a warm, comfortable winter, and not have to worry about the lights going off, the water turning off, and freezing cold temperatures even inside of dwellings. Everybody should have a warm place to stay safe even in the coldest of days!

This article is a message of thanks to Tesla for doing great work to protect Texans this coming winter.

This article written by a Texan for you with much love. I hope you stay warm and safe every winter and fully enjoy the cold weather with the holidays coming up! By Gail Alfar, please credit accordingly.

SEE https://x.com/GailAlfarATX/status/1712500081625067586?s=20

Will Tesla Become the Largest Private Employer in Texas?

September 23, 2023 Gail AlfarLeave a comment

(Austin, Texas) It’s great to see Tesla becoming a major force in Austin, bringing life to a previously neglected area East of the city and jobs to around 20,000 people at Giga Texas. In a short time, Tesla has become the region’s second-largest private employer and is soon to become No.1.

Charting the path of transformation

In 2020, I joined Jeff Roberts, Joe Tegtmeyer, and others to report on and document daily, the progress of this historic factory. In fact, we would often gather off of the 130 tollway to talk about what a great contribution Elon Musk is making to humanity by building Giga Texas. I recall standing near the construction site (see image from June 2020) and imagining the future. I imagined a vibrant, booming factory that would radiate life, hope and love to Austin, Central Texas, the USA, and the world. This is indeed coming to pass.

^{This is what the land looked like in June 2020 before Giga Texas was built.}

Construction began in July 2020, Model Y began before the end of 2021, and first deliveries of Model Y took place at Cyber Rodeo on April 7, 2022. Soon, we will celebrate first delivery of Cybertruck!

^{Giga Texas image courtesy J. Tegtmeyer.}

Driving growth and innovation: Tesla’s expanding vision at Giga Texas

As Cybertruck ramps up, Tesla is projected to add jobs… to reach over 60,000. To support this growth, Tesla constantly improves infrastructure like widening and improving roads and adding a cyberparking garage with chargers at Giga Texas. Tesla will build over 250,000 Cybertrucks at Giga Texas, as well as continue improving and accelerating building the best-selling Model Y and eventually, the highly anticipated next-generation vehicle.

Giga Texas is the machine that builds the machine.

Images courtesy Tesla, Inc. \ J. Tegtmeyer. Thank you for reading and supporting Tesla.

Gail Alfar, Author, Military Veteran. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – September 23, 2023. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.

Saving With A Tesla Referral Link

June 25, 2023August 31, 2023 Gail AlfarLeave a comment

(Austin, Texas) There are moments in life when you know it is time to make big changes that will alter the course of your life forever. Purchasing a new Tesla Vehicle is one of those moments. When I bought my Model 3 with FSD beta, it opened up a whole new chapter in my life. How did this happen?

The all-electric Model 3 was clean, fast, and drove itself (with my supervision) and it inspired me to start learning about electric powertrain engineering. This led to me to research the creation of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas. I followed the development of Giga Texas from before Day 1.

Elon Musk Interview/Meeting

This passion eventually led to me writing this blog, making incredible friendships, and meeting these friends in real life. One such encounter was on June 25, 2022, at the completed Gigafactory Texas. I had the pleasure of meeting Elon Musk and asking him about battery storage and Distributed Energy Resources [DERs].

I asked Elon Musk if he could talk a little about DERs and if Gigafactory Texas could be protected in the event of an emergency, Elon replied,

“Well, I think this is going to be in terms of batteries, a combination of large batteries, sort of utility-scale batteries with very big installations.
Like we just did a big thing with PG&E at Moss Landing in California which is going to be very important for maintaining power in California. There is a number of other installations happening.
And then at the local level, you’ve got the Powerwalls that collectively can stabilize the grid within a neighborhood.
So, the combination of centralized batteries with Megapack and distributed batteries at homes and businesses with powerwall working together can have a very positive effect in making sure the power stays on.” – Elon Musk

Save With Tesla Referral Link

When you purchase your first electric vehicle, you’ll want to make a wise choice. Tesla offers four variants: Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y. You can save money when you use a referral link. Any referral link is valuable, and if you would like, I will share mine https://www.tesla.com/referral/gail74884

This link also helps you receive savings on Tesla Solar Panels, Solar Roof, as well as can provide you with a free Demo Drive. Enjoy!