Apple uses Tesla batteries for its solar farm

Apple announced that it is building a large battery storage project at a solar farm in Northern California that it was spearheading in 2015, but what the company didn't share is that the battery packs will come from Tesla, the Verge reported.

The newly announced setup, which will store up to 240-megawatt hours of energy, was approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in 2020, according to documents submitted last year.

It will consist of 85 packages of Tesla lithium-ion megapacks and will be used to help support the company's Cupertino headquarters. The head of planning for Monterey County confirmed that Apple will use Tesla batteries in an email to The Verge. Apple declined to comment, and Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Tesla first announced a megapack battery system in 2019, however, the 60MW storage setting that Apple will use is not the largest of Tesla. The company has built battery storage solutions in Australia and South Houston, Texas at a volume of 100 MW, yet Apple described it as "one of the largest battery projects in the country in a press release, saying the battery system could power more than 7,000 homes for an entire day.

Tesla's batteries will allow Apple to store the energy from its 130 MW solar system on the farm called the California Flats. While Apple uses lithium-ion batteries in many of its products, it is not known to be working on any network-wide projects, the company is said to be developing a lithium iron phosphate battery for the electric vehicle project.