(Austin, Texas) Tesla announced today that Volvo will build EVs with the North American Charging Standard (NACS), joining Ford, General Motors, and Rivian in accessing all Tesla Superchargers in the USA.
This article is about the NACS and much more! I hope you’ll take a minute to read it. My goal is to inspire you, and put a smile on your face.
Why I’m in love with Tesla Supercharging
Nostalgia. As a kid, I liked going to gas stations. My favorite one was Sinclair Oil. I begged to go to Sinclair. Our family’s Oldsmobile used a lot of gas. We paid cash, and my father would pick up a pack of Camel cigarettes, buy us candy, and we would get a free small plastic dinosaur toy!
When Sinclair Oil went out of business, I stopped enjoying fueling up my car. Over the years the fun was removed from “gas stations,” and Tesla is making powering up your car fun again! How?
Tesla has created Superchargers that are easy to use in two main ways
The payment system is integrated into the Tesla App and the vehicle. When you plug in your EV, the payment is automatically integrated, so you never need to pull out a credit card or push any buttons on a screen. There is no screen, it’s just that simple.
Tesla built the NACS so that you, with your hands full, can plug in the car. The handle is small, ergonomic, and as it gets close to the charge port, it opens up the charger door.
Tesla, Ford, General Motors, Volvo, And Rivian, Are All Part Of A New Movement
Tesla has grown a robust Supercharging Network in the USA and there is plenty of room for other EVs to join in the fun. Soon, most EVs in the USA can be expected to either be assembled with the NACS charge port or to have an adapter.
Today the current lineup includes Ford, General Motors, Volvo And Rivian. (see addendum at end of the article for more automakers that have adopted NACS). These automakers have an agreement with Tesla so that their vehicles can access Tesla Superchargers. To emphasize the scope and scale of Tesla’s Supercharger Network, see the current map of Superchargers below. It keeps growing every day. How can it grow so fast?
Tesla builds Superchargers that are pre-fabricated at Giga New York, then ships them to a site, and they are installed within just a few days.
This fast installation process using the NACS, is the biggest indicator to me that it will be quicker than most realize that we will transition to all electric vehicles in the USA.
Superchargers in North America. Image Courtesy Tesla, Inc. (accessed on June 27, 2023)
Texas and Washington Lead The Way In Making Charging Easier
Texas is the first state in the USA to guarantee all state-funded fast charging will offer the NACS. Washington is the second state and I’m ready to add most states to the list!
I encourage you to make your next car electric. If you have not driven an electric car, I urge you to test drive one.
You’re going to laugh when I tell you that I own two Teslas, yet I still take test drives! I loved testing the Tesla Model X. I’ve never been this excited, since that day when my father pulled into the Sinclair gas station and I started collecting those little dinosaurs!
If you drive a Tesla and see other EVs at the Supercharger, be sure to give a smile and a thumbs up to the new people you’ll be seeing soon at the Superchargers!
Addendum/Update:
(June 29, 2023) Polestar joins General Motors, Ford, and Rivian in adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) which will enable access to Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network for all Polestar drivers in the United States and Canada. On June 29, 2023, Polestar stated“From 2025, new Polestar vehicles sold in North America will be equipped with the NACS charging port by default. Adapters to help allow existing Polestar drivers to access the network in a convenient way are expected in mid-2024.”
Addendum/Update:
Mercedes-Benz becomes the first German automaker to adopt NACS, enabling access to Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network.
(July 7, 2023) Mercedes-Benz drivers in the USA and Canada are delighted with this announcement!
A press release by Mercedes-Benz from July 7, 2023 states,
“Mercedes-Benz will be the first German OEM to implement NACS ports into its new electric vehicles starting in 2025. As part of a phased transition, Mercedes-Benz will initially offer an adapter that enables the company’s existing CCS BEVs to charge seamlessly on the NACS network from 2024 onwards.”
Mercedes-Benz joins Ford, General Motors, Volvo, Rivian, and Polestar in making the Supercharging experience seamless and pleasant for EV drivers.
Mercedes-Benz has adopted the NACS. Image Courtesy Mercedes-Benz.Supercharging, Image Courtesy Tesla, Inc.
Article is by Gail Alfar please credit accordingly.
(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!
Starship Launch Test One, April 20, 2023. Image Courtesy SpaceX.
“Space is very big. Space is bigger than people realize.
You can put a lot up in Space.” – Elon Musk
While in Italy, Elon Musk graciously took the time to share an update about Starship and Starlink. I attended the first Starship launch, and I join many other people in being very excited about this update. Elon’s dedication to communicating is notable, as he attempted to host a Twitter Space on two previous days but had to stop due to connection issues. I listened live to this third attempt hosted by Ashlee Vance. I am sharing the highlights of Elon’s talk which includes the late-breaking news that hot staging will be used. Elon explains hot staging in this article.
How Starlink is Helping Small Business: Railroads vs. Horse and Wagon
Amidst clinking dishes, pouring water, and the occasional singing Italian voice, Elon explained how the cost to orbit is much reduced with Falcon 9. He explained how numerous small satellite companies have been greatly helped, by Falcon 9, to create a business through the low cost to get their company satellites into orbit.
To better illustrate the low cost of transport, Elon used the example of early train rails,
“In a way it’s sort of like the Union Pacific railroad across the US where it’s like back when the early businesses were popping up in California, now you’ve got a railroad and previously you had to drag a wagon over the Sierras or the Rockies.
The point is, once you enable world-class transport you also enable a lot of companies to create interesting businesses because it is no longer prohibitively expensive to get to orbit.”
Starship and Falcon 9
Getting to orbit is hard, Elon explains,
“I think it’s worth identifying the difference between space and orbit, most people think of those as synonymous, but getting to Space is easy, and getting to orbit is hard.
Getting to orbit is much harder than getting to Space, which is somewhat arbitrarily defined as a 100 km altitude, but you still have an atmosphere at 100 km, it’s over 60 miles.”
It is extremely hard to get Starship into orbit, with its massive height of about 400 feet and mass of 5000 tons. And yet Elon remains on course to pursue that SpaceX mission of colonizing Mars. In fact, today Starship is humanity’s only hope to become multi-planetary.
The Space Station
Elon continued,
“If you immediately get to Space and you have no velocity you will fall back down just like a cannonball. Going up is all about orbit.
Space Station is somewhat of a misnomer because it is anything but stationary. The Space Station is moving around Earth at 17,000 miles an hour. The Space Station is moving roughly 12X faster than a bullet from an assault rifle, right now. And it goes around the earth every hour and a half, roughly every 90 minutes. So I wouldn’t call that stationery. It’s basically not a Space Station.”
Space is Big
One of my favorite parts of Elon’s talk today was when he brought listeners into the world we know from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He said,
“Space is very big. Space is bigger than people realize. You can put a lot up in Space. Think of the Earth as a sphere but being in orbit is basically a vast number of Earth’s surfaces, like a series of concentric spheres, and they’re not filled with debris, they’re filled with nothing.”
Elon explained that with coordination, satellites can be placed at different orbit levels so they will not interfere with other satellites or collide. He explained satellites can be maneuvered to avoid even coming close to anything else. Communication is important to make sure various countries have coordination between various satellite positions. For example, the Starlink satellite orbit is unique, and other satellites will never be put into that same orbit.
SpaceX Does not Worry About the Competition
“Anyone who spends time thinking about the competition is wasting their mental energy.” – Elon Musk
Elon Musk said SpaceX does not think about the “competition.” Instead of worrying about the competition, Elon and his team at SpaceX think about how they can make Starlink better and the Rockets better. He explains this using the example of sports. If you see a runner look back at the other runners right before he crosses the finish line then he’ll lose the race.
SpaceX has launched competitors’ satellites into orbit (since Soyuz stopped) indicating that SpaceX is supportive of competitors.
For example, on May 20, 2023, SpaceX launched a demonstration satellite for OneWeb’s second-generation broadband constellation. OneWeb is considered a competitor to Starlink. COSMO-SkyMed was launched for the Italian Space Agency in January 2021. See Rocket Launch live’s website for an up-to-date list of each SpaceX mission.
SpaceX’s Global Lead
I am amazed that 80% of all payload from Earth going to orbit will likely be brought there by SpaceX. Elon explained that China will put about 10% into orbit, and the rest of the world will put about 8-9% into orbit. “This year, if our luck holds, we’ll do 80% of Earth mass to orbit. That’s the key metric.”
Starship’s Significant Late Breaking Change: Hot Staging
Elon carefully explained that there are well over 1000 changes between the last Starship flight on April 20 (see video attached from SpaceX) and the upcoming launch test. Because of these changes, the next flight has a possible 60% higher probability to get into orbit.
“It depends on how well we do at stage separation.”
Elon revealed that a late-breaking change has been made for the next Starship launch, which is planned for about 6 weeks from now.
Hot staging will be used. The upper stage engines are lighted while the first stage of booster stage engines are still on. SpaceX will shut down most of the engines on the booster, leaving just a few running, and then at the same time, start the engines on the ship (or upper stage). This obviously results in blasting the boosters then you’ve got to protect the top of the booster from getting incinerated by the upper stage engines.
Never Stop Thrusting
In Soviet rocket history, hot staging has been used. There is a meaningful payload to orbit advantage with hot staging that is, conservatively, about a 10% improvement in payload to orbit.
Elon explains,
“With hot staging, you basically just never stop thrusting! The moment the rocket stops thrusting it’s engine, it starts falling back to earth. You don’t want to be coasting or be in a situation where the engines are not on because you just immediately start falling back to earth, unless you are already in orbit. You want to have a nonstop thrust situation.
Basically, you want to start the ship engines before you completely shut down the booster engines. In order to do this we actually have to have vents or the super hot plasma from the upper stage engines are going to go somewhere so we’re adding an extension to the booster which is almost all vent essentially. So that allows the upper stage engine to go through the vented extension of the booster and not just blow itself up. This is the most risky thing for the next flight, I think.”
This explains why protective shielding will be added to the top of the booster.
I could hear the concern in Elon’s voice when he mentioned to the interviewer (Ashlee Vance) that there are a lot of variables that are outside of his control when it comes to the next Starship launch test. The amount of work needed to prepare for this test is massive. The team at SpaceX must be working around the clock to prepare for this launch. Blood, sweat and tears go into every aspect. Starbase is hot, humid, and the work is very physical.
Elon continued, explaining time is needed to get the launch pad ready with 2 thick plates of steel, welded together with water-cooling layers sandwiched in.
“Think of it like a gigantic upside-down showerhead. It’s going to blast water upwards while the rocket is over the pad to counteract the massive amount of heat from the booster. The booster is the world’s biggest cutting torch, with a massive amount of heat and force. The pad is overkill on the steel sandwich and the concrete, but it should leave the pad in much better shape than last time. We’ll also be doing a higher thrust weight so it will spend less time on the ground.”
If you are interested in Elon’s deep technical dive into more changes to Starship, please see the interview on Vance’s Twitter account, “The Rise of Commercial Space with me and Elon Musk” and go to 43:10 to begin. I won’t add in the technicalities due to most people will glaze over, unless they are that 1 in 1000 rare engineer.
I am thankful that Elon had time to connect with the Space community and others on a Saturday afternoon. I listened from Austin, Texas while he was in Italy. Listeners were there from all over the world. Millions are inspired by Starship. Starship is humanity’s only hope to become a spacefaring civilization. If you are like me, this makes you excited to get up in the morning!
Starship Launch Test One, April 20, 2023. Image Courtesy SpaceX.
Article by Gail Alfar, first appeared on Gail’s Twitter account as an original article. Please credit Gail Alfar accordingly.
Let’s take a quick look at how cars.com came up with Tesla as most-American made car. All four made top of the list: Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y.
It was their analysis of 5 criteria:
assembly location,
parts content,
motor origin,
transmission origin &
U.S. mfg workforce.
Ultimately, they vetted 388 cars to arrive at 100 which made the index. Tesla made the top 4 – simply Amazing!
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster 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. If you liked this article, comment your opinion! Your feedback informs me, helps me write better, and helps me understand you the reader better.
Ashley St. Clair and Gail Alfar at Tesla Supercharger.
Ashley St. Clair joins us for the podcast.
Join Ashley St. Clair and me for a drive from the Austin airport to visit 1 Tesla Road, try out V3 supercharging, and experience FSD beta for the first time!
A thought-provoking conversation with Ashley
After our stop at Giga Texas, Ashley explains her book, written for children, Freedom Island, Elephants Are Not Birds, and we also touch on topics like ESG and boycott. I hope you enjoy both the conversation and the incredible ride showcasing the amazing FSD software that Tesla continues to put so much effort into perfecting through tens of thousands of hours of work utilizing their fleet of millions of vehicles.
I had a wonderful conversation with @stclairashley for the Podcast!
We talk Tesla, Supercharging, gender, ESG, boycott – all while driving using FSDbeta 🦾 Enjoy Episode 18 pic.twitter.com/ngRrMehAYW
This is what the rear casting of a Tesla Model Y looks like. Photo at Giga Texas by Gail Alfar.
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster 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.
(Austin, Texas) This evening I’m listening to the sound of rolling thunder, the skies are filled with lightning and I’m watching my Texas flag flapping in the wind outside.
In moments like this, I like to sit back and think about the significant things of the week. One significant thing that I do not want to let fade into history is the response I received on Twitter from Drew Baglino.
At Tesla Shareholder Day with Elon Musk, Baglino let investors and others know about the importance of his role at Tesla by describing intricate parts of Master Plan 3. As SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla, he holds a lot of responsibility. On June 14, Baglino tweeted a message of thanks to utilities that are working to approve the Tesla backup switch in their territory.
What is a Tesla Backup Switch?
This is the question I posed to Baglino on Twitter because my Tesla Solar System has a large and elegant white Gateway with the Tesla logo on it. It is beautiful, and I understood it to also be an advanced switch system. I asked if the backup switch replaces Gateway. The Tesla Gateway is considered an engineering marvel, however, it is much bigger than a backup switch. Could Backup Switch do everything Gateway does in such a small package?
The answer is yes! Baglino graciously attached a schematic of backup switch and explained the purpose, saying,
“Yes, the backup switch is a meter socket adapter that provides the metering and automatic grid disconnect functionality of the Tesla Energy Gateway.” (see image)
Backup Switch, Image Courtesy Tesla, Inc.
My Power Went Down and my Powerwalls Took Over
I had to pull away from writing this article for about an hour as a severe storm warning was in effect for Austin, Texas. When this happens, I walk outside, bring in the dry clothes from the line, secure lawn chairs and make sure the car is parked in the garage. I love watching storms roll in, the sky in shades of grey, the wind rushing all around the tall trees, and the earthy smell of the storm.
Meanwhile, my Tesla Powerwalls, like sentry guards against the weather with their backup storage, started to fill with power from the grid, and eventually, power from the grid went down.
The Powerwalls started to power up the house. Hail started to hit our home. I ran out to the porch to watch the falling hail and smell the earthy air of a summer storm.
This was the Tesla Gateway in action. Backup switch can do the same task, only it is more efficient by 30%.
Tesla says of the switch, “Powerwall installs with Backup Switch are 30%+ faster and use less equipment.”
Baglino also explained, “Powerwall+ contains the cellular and WiFi capabilities of the Tesla Energy Gateway. So there is no need for an Energy gateway when you install Powerwall+ with a Backup Switch.”
Tesla Engineers Are Relentless in the Pursuit of Improving Products
Tesla Energy engineers built an incredible product called the Gateway. Gateway would have been a great place for Telsa to stop, but it was not good enough for Tesla, so they engineered backup switch.
I get excited when I see Tesla advancing through smart engineering this way. I know that it’s important to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy as fast as possible, and this is a beautiful, sublime way of doing it.
From Tesla’s incredible engineering in their vehicles, to how their systems seamlessly protect families from power outages, safety seems to be the top priority in every aspect.
I hope you, dear reader, will benefit from clean energy where you live, you may not have Powerwalls, but someday you may have solar or wind power that is sold to the grid near where you live, powering your home. We have a lot of work to do in the USA and around the entire world. My cup is half full, I am optimistic, as long as there are good-hearted people, I believe that Tesla Master Plan 3 can be achieved.
Addendum: Five More Reasons Backup Switch is So Amazing
Here are more amazing facts about the Tesla Backup Switch taken from the Interconnection Reform to Accelerate Residential Solar and Storage by Arushi Sharma Frank
Installs in under an hour and allows for safe disconnects and whole-home backup with the battery when the grid is in an outage
Tesla Backup Switch reduces project costs
Compliant with National Electric Code
Certified to UL 414, UL 2735, UL 916, UL 1741 PCS
Less intrusive for customer & easier installs on diverse property sizes
Austin Texas on the night I drafted this amazing article. Courtesy Shane Ware on Twitter.
This article written by Gail Alfar, please credit accordingly. With special mention to TESLA ENERGY & Drew Baglino. Thank you to Tesla Energy for being amazing. Thank you to Elon Musk for giving Masterplan 3 to the people of earth. Images Courtesy Tesla, Inc.
Join Gail Alfar as she hops in the Model Y and heads to the Happy Cactus in Austin on Tesla FSD beta. This miraculous part of this journey is that it is a trip all across the city, during rush hour, with zero driver intervention. Gail is, of course, watching the road and monitoring the car all the time, but Tesla’s software makes the grade! Enjoy!
Gail's Tesla Podcast #17 ☺️🌵 FSD Beta in East Austin —> Happy Cactus with Zero disengagements! pic.twitter.com/oFSiS9Q6MS
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster 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.
As the sun sets in the evening, I am relaxing on my back porch and overcome with emotion as I listen to Elon Musk speak with GM CEO Mary Barra in a Twitter Space. Elon is welcoming GM’s electric cars to the Tesla Network. This article features Elon’s words, my thoughts, and the varied opinions of 12 people.
I’ll start by mentioning that the Tesla Supercharger Network is the best in the world, with seamless charging that has an *uptime rate of 99.95% which is the best overall. This deserves an award considering there are over 45,000 Superchargers in the world!
“This is one of the great inflection points in motor vehicles” – Elon Musk
During the Twitter Space, Elon said “This is one of the great inflection points in motor vehicles, and certainly comparable to the moving production line and so it’s a profound change in the world.”
Elon went above and beyond to ensure Barra understood the support Tesla will give to GM, saying,
“Obviously you have our full support and we are incredibly excited to partner with you on this and just make it a fantastic electric vehicle experience, whether somebody is driving a car from GM or from Tesla.
I think this will be really great for consumers, and I am not sure people in North America realize it’s a much better standard and it’s only one connector that automatically detects whether it’s AC or DC, and adjusts for the current.
And it’s also light and easy to handle and I think aesthetically it’s also preferable. We’re honored to have you (GM) join us and Tesla will send you, you will have our absolute full support.”
Tesla Takes Zero Profit
The generosity and kindness of Elon was apparent in a Tweet to Ray4Tesla in which he clarified that it’s “Worth mentioning that Tesla is supplying the adapter & other hardware to car companies at zero profit.”
Twitter Space Audience Appreciated By Elon Musk
Elon thoughtfully noticed the audience in the Twitter space (436,000K people) and said “I notice a lot of great people who know a lot about the electric vehicle industry so I think you can pick almost anyone and they will have some great questions.” Although Barra took questions from her Twitter feed, it is notable that Elon showed care for listeners and for those asking to speak.
Elon Musk Desires Non-Tesla Owners To Have a Delightful Experience Charging
Elon took into consideration the mindset of non-Tesla Owners, saying,
“It’s going to be really great for consumers, they will not have to worry about which plug, which socket, which charging station. and it will just work seamlessly. I think this will be a fundamentally great thing for the advancement of electric vehicles in North America.”
“I really want to reiterate to GM owners out there that Tesla is not going to do anything to prefer Tesla owners, and it really will be an even playing field. I think people should feel comfortable buying a Tesla or a GM car and we will provide support equally to both. The most important thing is that we advance the electric vehicle revolution.”
Twelve People Share Their Thoughts on Tesla’s Partnership With GM
I hope to share with you why I believe this is an extraordinary move by Elon Musk and I think you’ll also like to hear what people are saying.
I feel like celebrating!! – Ryan Levenson
Wow GM will be going NACS. Who’d have thought this would happen?! – Dr. Know It All
This is beautiful – Andrea Stroppa
It feels like the transition to EVs is all but guaranteed now, the reality is that the best consumer vehicles are electric and soon charging won’t be an issue no matter what brand you drive. – The Kilowatts
I’m happy for GM. I thought their ego would have prevented them from doing this but it seems like they saw the writing on the wall. CCS is just more expensive, bulkier, and riddled with failures. – Apart-Bad5446
There’s nothing here to reciprocate. What does Tesla get out of GMs fast chargers?– Feurie
Can’t wait to see the GM and Ford commercials bragging about their Tesla supercharger network – Jackson23456789
Smart move! A rising tide lifts all ships. Congrats to GM and Tesla – Jim O’Kane
Love My R1T, but Ford is making solid moves IMO. – RunAshamen Rivian owner
Feeling delighted and smug about GM’s big news – Sandy Munro
You’ve got to remember that in the scenario that is playing out here, Tesla’s competitor isn’t Ford/GM, it’s Exxon, Shell, BP etc. Tesla is becoming the number one provider to fuel everyday transport. Tesla is replacing gas stations with this move. It’s very clear in Tesla Master Plan Part 3, they want to be an Energy company, not a car company. This is just another step forward into another market. – Elad04
Tesla is now a power standard for electric vehicle charging.– Robert Scoble
To say I am overjoyed by this is an understatement. My take is that this will serve to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles orders of magnitude faster. Tesla welcomed Ford to the Supercharger network last week so I’m excited to watch these companies develop into electric manufacturing.
Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas. Photo courtesy CVSherman.
This article written by @GailAlfarATX please credit accordingly. I express unending gratitude to Tesla Charging and to Elon Musk. I refer you to *Tesla Impact Report 2022 p70 which highlights the quality of Tesla Supercharging. I have referenced the following ppl and more, thank you to all! RyanHLevanson, The Kilowatts, Andrea Stroppa, Sandy Munro, Mary Barra, Dr. Knopw It All, TV Dad.com Robert Scoble, and Ray For Tesla.
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Weather extremes. We’ve seen fires in California, rolling blackouts across most of the country, and hurricanes in the Southeast.
This article is about big battery storage, specifically, Tesla Megapacks and why they are increasingly the choice for public utilities and companies. I’ll also discuss margin, or ROI (return on investment).
We will specifically look at three entities that have recently built or plan to build big battery storage.
Powering Florida’s Only Rice Mill: A Single Tesla Megapack
When the sun sets over Palm Beach County, Florida, one Tesla Megapack is helping power Florida’s only rice mill.
Florida Crystals Corp, had the foresight to plan to generate energy with a 900 panel solar array and order a Tesla Megapack. On May 31, they announced on Twitter that their Megapack is up and running, supplying electricity to the mill after dark and ensuring the power stays on around hurricane season to protect valuable rice.
Megapack is estimated to reduce carbon by 250 tons annually and is 1.8 MWh.
Remarkably, this Megapack is also the first one in Florida!
Arizona’s Giant Clean Energy Storage: Strata To Build 255MW/1GWh Tesla Megapack Project
Big projects are needed to transition our world to sustainable energy. APS or Arizona Public Service is a utility that serves more than 1.3 million homes and businesses in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties. This requires a lot of electricity!
Private company, Strata Build, plans to build, own and operate a huge 255MW/1GWh Tesla Megapack clean energy storage system with a value of $500M. Strata will then provide power to APS.
Australia’s Power Revolution: Megapacks Keeping Power on Across the Continent
As sure as the sun shines and the wind blows over the splendid continent of Australia, Tesla Megapacks are keeping the power on for millions of people.
I created a chart of Tesla Megapacks that are currently operating in Australia. There are many more Battery storage plans proposed, announced, and under construction. Other companies are also building big battery storage for Australians.
Information accessed from Renew Economy Big Battery Storage Map of Australia accessed on June 2, 2023.
Powering Growth: The Compelling Case for Investing in Tesla Megapacks
One of the probing questions I had from a reader of mine, was about margins. For this, I like to look at the future benefits to humanity. We can measure the value of Tesla or other big battery storage by its capability to keep the power on when the sun is not shining in the wind is not blowing.
Let’s imagine a public utility that serves 1M people that undergoes several power outages a year. Now visualize Megapacks stepping in and keeping power on for schools, hospitals, living spaces, and companies (the rice mill in Florida).
Speaking of the rice mill, a value can be assigned to the 90M lbs/year of rice that Florida Crystals Corp. is trusted to mill for its many clients. The volume of rice is enough for 4 million people annually. Businesses that have reliable power can thrive, grow, and expand, that’s a great ROI.
Every person benefits, including the many people that are employed in installing and maintaining Megapacks.
Another great value, which is hard to assign a dollar amount to, is in the essential concept that people stay safe and healthy.
Tesla’s website (accessed on June 3, 2023) allows you to reserve one Megapack to a max of 1000 Megapacks, with planned delivery in 2025. The base cost of one is around $2,8M (including installation).
Tesla’s Master Plan 3 includes Megapacks, Lithium refining, and Tesla Energy
Tesla Lithium refining in Corpus Christi, Texas, will enable Megapacks to be built faster. (It’s much easier to build a Megapack than to build a vehicle.) Megapacks, built at a certain volume now, will increase in scale.
Although it may seem a small step forward, Tesla Energy is putting programs together starting in Texas for charging Tesla vehicles during times when there’s excess wind production at night.
My take is that It’s worth following Tesla Energy carefully, in my opinion, Tesla starts off with what looks like small moves, and then those moves grow exponentially. Today, for example, buyers of a new Model 3 may apply to charge at home for free for 1 year with Tesla Energy. Late December 2022, Tesla Energy began an electricity plan in Texas designed for Powerwall owners. What will we see tomorrow?
I hope your summer is cool, memorable, and filled with adventures led by your hearts’ desires!
Thanks as always for supporting my writing. Article by Gail Alfar please credit accordingly. Thanks to Tesla Energy, Arushi Sharma Frank, Tesla Megapack, and reader Darrell Park for suggesting this topic.
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