Tesla is quietly but aggressively making inroads into the energy storage market, Bloomberg reports. Tesla accounts for nearly 70 percent of grid-connected Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) storage projects in its home state of California and is on track to receive up to $65 million in SGIP rebates.
As part of a pilot program with SolarCity, the electric car manufacturer has installed batteries at about 300 California homes equipped with solar panels. Walmart has installed Tesla batteries at 11 stores in California, and Cargill is planning to install a 1-MW system for its Fresno animal processing plant.
Santa Rosa-based Jackson Family Wines has a partnership with Tesla involving battery storage, and the Temecula Valley Unified School District in southern California plans to install solar panels at 20 of its 28 schools this summer, five of which will also have Tesla batteries.
After hinting at developing a battery for the home last year, Tesla is expected to announce a home battery system, as well as a large utility-scale battery, next week.
According to a report from GTM Research, battery storage sales in the United States are expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2019. Tesla has a $5 billion gigafactory for battery production under way in Nevada.
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