To create a massive new energy storage system that will soon replace the state’s final coal power plant, Tesla Megapacks are currently their route to Hawaii.
Hawaii, which already holds the largest installed solar capacity per capita, plans to use only green energy by 2045. But because the sun doesn’t always shine, the state needs to balance all that renewable energy with energy storage capability.
Tesla has been installing batteries in Hawaii to achieve that objective for years. The company collaborates with Hawaiian Electric on massive new battery systems and a Powerwall-based virtual power plant. And now that the Tesla Megapacks are arriving in Hawaii, the final coal power plant in Hawaii will be shut down.
With a 185 megawatts/565 megawatt-hour capacity, the Kapolei Energy Storage facility (KES) will be among the world’s most extensive battery systems once completed. It is a joint venture between Hawaiian Electric and Plus Power, which chose to power the system with Tesla Megapacks.
Tesla’s most significant energy storage device, the Megapack, is a 3 MWh, container-sized battery system. As many as 158 Megapacks are en route to Oahu, Hawaii, to begin construction on the project. The project must be 100% completed and functioning by September 2022, when Hawaii’s final coal plant, nearby KES, is anticipated to be shut down.
Tesla’s energy storage solutions have demonstrated their ability to maintain grid frequency. KES seeks to accomplish the same while absorbing extra solar power throughout the day and discharging it during the evening.
At a ground blessing ceremony last year, Plus Power’s chief developer Bob Rudd said:
“Here, today, on Oahu, Plus Power and Hawaiian Electric are sending a postcard from the future. I’m certain that someday we’ll all look back when there are dozens of projects just like KES on the mainland and all across the world, and we’ll think, ‘We were there. Hawaii showed the world how to do it first.'”
Additionally, Plus Power says that the Tesla Megapack will operate as a “black-start” device to reboot the island’s power grid in the event of a catastrophe. The “Ultimate pacemaker for the grid” is what they are calling it.
With 565 MWh of Megapacks to deploy, it is a sizable project for Tesla. Still, the company has deployed larger systems, such as the recently launched Moss Landing project, which has a 730 MWh capacity and is intended to be expanded to over 1GWh.
