Tesla has announced plans to build a factory to manufacture its energy storage units in a place where clean energy is booming.
According to Teslarati, the electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturer will build its new plant in Waller County, Texas.
The 1 million-square-foot facility will allow Tesla to build more Megapack battery storage units. It will be the third manufacturing plant that produces them. The first two are in Lathrop, California, and Shanghai.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed the decision to build the factory on a quarterly earnings call with investors.
“We’re trying to ramp output of the stationary battery storage as quickly as possible,” Musk said.
As Tesla has faced declining sales and brand affinity amid protests at Tesla locations, the Megapack has become increasingly popular in recent years as regions look to move away from planet-warming dirty energy made by coal, oil, and natural gas and toward solar and wind energy. Governments, grids, and big businesses need ways to store excess power generated by clean energy sources until it’s needed and to help prevent grid failure during severe heat or cold, as well as during storms and other extreme weather.
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Tesla’s battery packs are versatile, customizable, and modular, allowing them to be easily deployed in a variety of ways and places.
Texas is a logical place for the new plant to go, as well; clean energy has been booming in the state. It has 80% more renewable energy capacity than any other state, and in San Antonio, a massive battery and energy storage project is in the works to help stabilize the local power grid.
On top of that, a 468-megawatt solar farm is under construction to help bolster Texas’ power grid with even more clean energy.
Vince Yokom of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership praised Tesla’s decision to build there.
“I want to thank Tesla for investing in Waller County and Brookshire,” Yokom said. “This will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for their Megapack product. It is a powerful battery unit that provides energy storage and support to help stabilize the grid and prevent outages.”
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