Tesla Megapacks power Ørsted's 500 MWh Texas battery project
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- Tesla Megapacks are now supporting the Texas grid at Ørsted's 250 MW/500 MWh Old 300 battery storage project in Needville, southwest of Houston, fully connected to ERCOT and able to deliver 250 MW of power for two hours.
- Tesla built the units at its Lathrop, California Megafactory — the largest industrial utility-scale BESS factory in the US — with each Megapack delivering about 1.9 MW and 3.85 MWh; the company claims 58+ GWh of industrial storage operating across 65+ countries.
- Old 300 Storage operates independently from the adjacent 430 MW Old 300 Solar (running since 2024, serving ~80,000 Texas homes/businesses), charging from and discharging to the wider ERCOT grid rather than just the paired solar farm.
- The combined solar and battery projects are expected to generate around $110 million in property tax revenue for local schools, infrastructure, and emergency services.
- Ørsted Americas Onshore president Melissa Peterson said battery storage has played a large role in providing power to ERCOT in times of tight supply and demand margins, as the project expands Ørsted's US onshore portfolio to ~6 GW.
Why it matters: ERCOT gains a 250 MW dispatchable asset for a grid facing rising demand and extreme-weather supply pressure, while Tesla adds 500 MWh to a stationary storage fleet it puts at 58+ GWh globally and Ørsted crosses 6 GW of US onshore capacity.
