Tesla more than doubles Powerwall capacity

Tesla has announced it will more than double the power output of its Powerwall battery from 3.3kW to 7kW peak usage, keeping the cost the same.

Speaking at the firm’s annual shareholders meeting this week, chief executive Elon Musk said: “We actually took some of the negative feedback to heart and I’m very happy to announce that we’ve dramatically increased the power capability of the Powerwall.”

Musk added that the price of the units will remain at $4,000 (approximately £2590) including installation.

Last month, Tesla created a media storm when it unveiled its rechargeable lithium-ion energy-storing battery, Powerwall, which is designed to collect and store excess energy from roof-mounted solar panels and small-scale wind turbines.

The company also released a utility-scale Powerpack, which uses 100kWh battery blocks grouped together to scale between 500kWh and 10MWh. The company claims the technology will “wean the world off fossil fuels”.

Tesla said it is working with utilities and other renewable power partners around the world to deploy storage on the grid to “improve resiliency and cleanliness of the grid as a whole”.

Earlier this month, Tesla said it will work with Irish renewable energy firm Gaelectric to trial utility-scale battery projects in the country, with an initial 1MW demonstration project due for deployment next year. However, details have not yet been released about any possible deals with UK energy companies.

Institution of Engineering and Technology Energy Policy Panel chair Simon Harrison told Utility Week those who could really benefit from the new technology are DNOs, who could use it to “offset peak demand problems” on parts of their network.

Chiltern Power director John Scott said that if 5 per cent of UK customers buy Tesla Motors’ Powerwall battery, decentralised energy storage capacity would increase to 10.5 GWh.