Tesla Japan announced on X the nationwide launch of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), offering free Powerwall installations to eligible participants. A sign-up link is provided on Tesla Japan’s website. A VPP is similar to a conventional power plant in that it provides energy to businesses and homes. It connects many Powerwalls to form a larger power source, stabilizing the grid and supplying power to individual homes or businesses.
What are DERs? Distributed Energy Resources (DER) combine with Tesla’s advanced software and infrastructure to aggregate energy, ensuring reliable power during blackouts.
Tesla partners with Global Engineering and Fuyo General Lease to deliver this DER aggregation service, potentially supported by Japanese government subsidies through the Long-Term Decarbonization Auction (up to 90% cost coverage for battery storage). This aligns with Elon Musk’s Master Plan 3 for global sustainable energy.
Tesla Solar, Powerwalls, and Home Charging [credit: Tesla]
Hello and welcome back to “What’s Up Tesla.” I’m excited that the kids are out of school, and that summer has arrived. Here in Texas, it seems every summer I hear a similar sentiment, “This one is going to be a hot one!” This summer Texas could meet power demands better because Tesla is offering ERCOT an immediate solution.
Some weeks ago, Texans were warned by ERCOT, “With unseasonably hot weather driving record demand across Texas, ERCOT continues to work closely with the power industry to make sure Texans have the power they need. This afternoon, six power generation facilities tripped offline resulting in the loss of approximately 2,900 MW of electricity. At this time, all generation resources available are operating. We’re asking Texans to conserve power when they can by setting their thermostats to 78-degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances (such as dishwashers, washers, and dryers) during peak hours.”
During this hot summer, Tesla is fully prepared to step in with a smart solution to the problem. I learned details about this during a Workshop I attended on May 31. “Tesla Virtual Power Plant Workshop, Related to OBDRR041” was hosted by ERCOT and led by leaders at Tesla Energy.
Tesla Powerwall owners are an important and untapped resource for energy
Tesla battery storage at a home in Texas. Credit: MojoSusan
Tesla Powerall owners are an important but untapped resource for energy. Minor changes to ERCOT’s current practices can ensure a stable grid in Texas. Owners could act as an aggregate source of power, forming a Virtual Power Plant. Tesla built a demonstration test in which 64 Tesla Powerwall battery owners participated in providing energy as an aggregate. The demo showed impressive performance, proving that there were no technical blocks to these owners providing power to the Texas grid.
“Nothing in Texas today lets homes behave like a hive mind and deliver clean MWs 24x 7 to the grid.” – Arushi Sharma Frank, Tesla Policy/Energy
Tesla is requesting for ERCOT to allow all interested Powerwall owners to contribute to the Texas grid as a combined cluster. All that is needed are minor changes to ERCOT’s current practices. Tesla’s slide presentation for their “Virtual Power Plant Workshop, Related to OBDRR041” was well done and informative. I am sharing some of it here:
Problem Statement
Texas needs all available, affordable, dispatchable electric capacity/resources mobilized to address grid reliability challenges
Distributed energy resources are available today, but are unrealized dispatchable assets to ERCOT
Short-Term Solution
Minor changes to an existing, unutilized ERCOT market design concept developed 9 years ago, could immediately unlock grid reliability services from small distributed energy resources that can be dispatched as an "aggregation"
Tesla proved that it can bring grid services value to ERCOT with volunteer customers.Tesla shows that distributed systems can respond in minutes or even seconds (faster than most gas or coal power plants).These aggregated resources (batteries in this case) could also provide primary frequency response. The response is “immediate and automatic” to stabilize the grid.
In Summary
Tesla is offering a proven solution to the fragile Texas grid, currently operated by ERCOT. Tesla proved that their Virtual Power Plant can work extremely well. Their VPP can act fast, respond to load demand, and thus ensure that Texans’ energy needs are met. All that is needed is a small change in ERCOTS’ current practices for this to be a reality.
Tesla Powerwalls keep the lights on for Hannukah for one family. Credit: u/rocher
My thoughts
Tesla’s powerful energy software has precise capabilities to deliver stored energy to power a homeowner’s home and electric car, keep power stored up and also send energy to most local utilities for their use. However, as Arushi Sharma Frank, Tesla Policy/Energy, explained clearly via twitter after the workshop, “Nothing in Texas today lets homes behave like a hive mind and deliver clean MWs 24x 7 to the grid.” She explained that the main thing slowing down Tesla from unleashing this powerful lifesaving technology is “technical acrobatics.”
I listened to some of these “technical acrobatics” during the workshop, and as the minutes wore on, I was invited to comment.
I took the opportunity to explain that as a Texas-Registered Nurse, I am in the business of caring for families, some of whom were deeply affected by the last severe power outage in February 2021. I explained that since Tesla has already demonstrated that they can provide power reliably through volunteer Tesla Powerwall owners, there should be no delay in allowing full participation as soon as possible. As a healthcare provider, I advocate for people in need. Having power is important to people’s health.
If you would like a closer look at Tesla’s excellent 24-Slide Presentation, the link is here. My article featuring Texas homeowners’ experience with Tesla Solar and Powerwalls is here.
Gail Alfar, [Edited by Sarah Alfar] Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – This blogpost was created utilizing STARLINK satellite services. All Rights Reserved. June 4, 2022
One-Time
Monthly
Yearly
Make a one-time donation to support What’s Up Tesla
Make a monthly donation to support What’s Up Tesla
This is the year to invest in solar. Putting money into a Tesla Solar Roof or panels with Powerwalls is a smart choice.
For a long time, most of us assumed we should reliably purchase energy from a local utility. The era of expecting a local entity to offer a never-ending supply of affordable energy has come to an end. Today people can generate their own energy.
The decision to go solar may be more affordable than we once thought
Vi To, father of two and homeowner in Dallas, shares with us why he bought Tesla solar panels and powerwall, “Texas had a scary Snowmageddon last winter where we lost power for one day and neighbors and friends lost it for ten days in freezing temperatures. I started to seriously look for solutions/backup power options.”
Vi likes to crunch numbers, and he shares that he spent about $50k on his Tesla Solar Panels and Powerwalls. After a 13k federal tax credit, he financed through Tesla for 10 years, so he pays $270 monthly to Tesla instead of paying $300 monthly to the utility company. “My system pays for itself in 5-7 years and then its free power thereafter,” he adds that he “also saves $200 a month by driving a Model Y.”
Would You Sell Energy to Your Local Grid?
Tesla has invited Solar and Powerwall owners like Vi to join in a demonstration to show that a fleet of powerwalls can be a source to power the Texas public utility grid. In this way, people who are part of the Tesla fleet may one day sell power to ERCOT.
“Powerwalls like yours can be a powerful tool to accelerate the grid’s transition to sustainable energy.
Opt-in to our technical demonstration to help Tesla and ERCOT prove that a fleet of Powerwalls can provide the same services as conventional power plants with distributed clean energy.
This is a valuable step toward Powerwalls’ paid participation in ERCOT markets.” -Tesla
Increasingly people like Vi are proving they can generate their own energy. They are showing that solar is more reliable than their local utility. Their word of mouth is just one indicator of the strength of solar power. Supporting the wider electricity grid will soon be another indicator. In short, solar and powerwalls work together to perform the important job of bringing energy to all people. The more that people invest in solar, the safer everyone will be from events that are beyond our control.
But above all, I say that we are transitioning into a world where many people will be helped by the intelligent system that Tesla is pioneering.
One day, it will seem ridiculous that people ever relied so heavily on utility companies for energy.
“I think the beauty of the product is that you can’t tell it’s solar, most people come by, they have no idea.” - Tesla Solar Roof Owner
Credit TTVZ NewsChannel 21 – Bend Roofing Co. first in C.O. to install Tesla Solar Roof [10/4/21]
In writing this blog post, I kept thinking about the amazing work that Elon Musk is doing to help Ukraine. Tesla and SpaceX employees not only facilitated bringing Starlink to Ukraine, but they also scrapped together parts last-minute from Tesla Giga Berlin to create a system for humanitarian purposes. Through a system linking solar panels to Tesla Powerwalls, they showed how to power up Starlink satellite receivers. This is another reason why I am willing to invest in Tesla Solar. It is a creative system designed to help ultimately help humanity.
Thanks for reading my blog post. I look forward to creating interesting takes on Tesla to share with YOU most Saturdays! Find out more about Tesla Solar here.
Hello, I’m Gail Alfar, a Tesla owner in Austin, Texas. I love to share good vibes about Tesla, Giga Texas, Tesla China & Tesla Solar. I really do believe our future is bright! I recently rented a shared office space to start “What’s Up Tesla,” and a funny thing happened to me.
Have you ever been locked out? I went into a secret room that was filled with beautiful art. The door locked behind me and I was forced to exit the area. Outside, the hallway was empty, except for a Pepsi someone had left sitting on the floor. Eventually a stranger came along and unlocked the door. “You need to get back in, there’s lots of work to do.”
His words reminded me of why I am writing this blog. I have to do more to support the mission of Tesla and Elon Musk, as there is still a very long road ahead.
“While 2021 was a defining year for our company, we believe we are just at the very early stages of our journey. Thank you for being part of it.” Tesla
Tesla Giga Texas (Source: Tesla Q4 and FY2021 Update)
October 7, 2021: Tesla Headquarters is officially Austin, Texas. Elon Musk announced this historic move at the Tesla 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
January 26, 2022: Tesla Q4 and Full Year 2021 Financial Results are a game-changer, revealing that making electric cars is actually more profitable than making combustion engine cars!
“2021 was a breakthrough year for Tesla. There should no longer be doubt about the viability and profitability of electric vehicles. With our deliveries up 87% in 2021, we achieved the highest quarterly operating margin among all volume OEMs, based on the latest available data, demonstrating that EVs can be more profitable than combustion engine vehicles.” Tesla
My view is that 2021 was the year for Giga Shanghai and the Fremont Factory to shine! The two factories had a combined record number of vehicle deliveries of 0.94 million in 2021. For comparison, these same two factories produced and delivered 0.5 million vehicles in 2020.
Elon Musk acknowledged Tesla will build more Gigafactories in addition to Giga Texas and Giga Berlin-Brandenburg [locations may be announced by the end of the year]. On the one hand factories should ideally be close to customers. On the other hand, it is so critical to build gigafactories, that I argue there should be a second ultra fast and efficient gigafactory in China.
Tesla allowed us a view into the assembly line in Giga Texas. We see Austin Model Y seats being mounted on a structural battery pack. This shift in manufacturing means all Tesla Gigafactories can produce vehicles even faster [and more profitable] with less parts. This is part of Tesla’s winning plan to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Make no mistake though, this was and still is a painfully difficult journey for Tesla!
“Prototypes are easy, production is hard.”
Elon Musk
Gigafactory Texas- Attaching Seats to a Structural Battery Pack (Source: Tesla Q4 and FY2021 Update)
I used to think that a “Financial Result” meeting should only be about Tesla’s hardcore production and profitability. Now I wholeheartedly endorse allowing Elon Musk to speak in order to draw listeners into imagining a wonderful world of the future.
Allow me to share a futuristic scenario I envisioned after listening to Elon Musk speak at the “Full Year 2021 Financial Results” meeting:
Here, all vehicles are fully autonomous, so imagine for a moment a world filled with Cybertrucks, Model Y and many other EVs in their most durable forms, all capable of driving almost 24/7. The cost to get from one place to another is low, and people prefer to use entertaining Robotaxis. Its rare to see anyone owning a personal vehicle.
In crowded places, there are tunnels beckoning people underground, and away from the traffic up above. Many tunnel entrances are repurposed parking lots or garages. People wonder why there were so many of these strange things built.
Everywhere, we see friendly Optimus humanoid robots. Optimus are doing almost any kind of menial task, or any task that takes place in uncomfortable situations or temperatures.
As news headlines proclaim a human labor shortage, Tesla Gigafactories roll out large numbers of Optimus. These kind, sentient humanoid robots help to ease the labor shortage, and propel the economy into a stable place. Optimus helps build Tesla HVAC and hot water systems. They even help install systems in homes.
"I've designed your home now for maximum efficiency and comfort, test it out and let me know what you think, see you tomorrow as I must go get recharged at the local solar-port Megapack," declares Optimus while climbing into a Robotaxi that has gently pulled up playing Sandstorm on the boombox.
Thanks for reading my first blog post. I’m looking forward to creating interesting takes on Tesla to share with YOU most Saturdays! Listen to the entire Tesla Q4 and Full Year 2021 Financial Results here.
By the way, I drank that Pepsi and I still have the bottle, just to remind myself not to get locked out again.
5 Takeaways from Tesla’s 2022 Shareholder Meeting This article features highlights of what Elon Musk said about Tesla Gigafactories, AI, Cybertruck, Optimus robot, how we can help support the mission, and more.
Reasons Why Tesla Has the Best Factory Safety in the Industry This article will bring you along with me as we look into how Tesla has become a leader in job site safety in manufacturing. Our focus will be on statements about workplace safety from Elon Musk at the 2022 Shareholder’s meeting and the Tesla 2021 Impact Report.
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – January 29, 2022. 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.
One-Time
Monthly
Yearly
Make a one-time donation to support What’s Up Tesla
Make a monthly donation to support What’s Up Tesla
whatsuptesla.com 