PG&E’s Tesla Megapack battery in California now operational

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 182.5-megawatt energy storage system in Northern California was designed and constructed in a partnership between Tesla and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is now operational. PG&E said Monday that the system includes 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs and has the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt-hours of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 megawatts per hour during periods of high demand. Known as the Elkhorn Battery because of its location in Monterey Bay’s Elkhorn Slough, the lithium-ion battery storage system was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2018.