New Texas Energy Storage Project Now Connected to the Grid
The Old 300 Storage project, located in Needville, southwest of Houston, Texas, was officially connected to the ERCOT grid on August 5. Developed by Danish energy company Ørsted, the facility utilizes Tesla Megapack large-scale energy storage systems with a total capacity of 250 MW/500 MWh. At full output, it can continuously supply 250 MW of power for two hours, effectively alleviating supply pressures on the Texas grid during peak demand or extreme weather conditions.
The Tesla Megapack systems were manufactured at Tesla’s Megafactory in Lathrop, California, the largest industrial utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) factory in the United States. Each Megapack integrates battery modules, inverters, thermal management, and control units, significantly reducing the equipment assembly required on-site and improving deployment efficiency. Tesla’s current two-hour Megapack configuration provides approximately 1.9 MW of power and 3.85 MWh of storage per unit.
Energy Storage System Enhances Grid Flexibility and Resilience
The Megapack system offers bidirectional power regulation, charging when electricity supply is abundant and discharging when grid demand rises. It also provides ancillary services such as voltage and frequency regulation. With electricity demand in the ERCOT grid continuing to grow and extreme weather events increasing the risk of supply-demand imbalances, the rapid response capability of energy storage systems has become critical. Melissa Peterson, President of Ørsted Americas Onshore, stated that battery energy storage has already played a significant role in supporting the ERCOT grid during periods of tight supply and demand margins. The activation of the Old 300 Storage project will further enhance the stability and flexibility of the grid.