Tesla deployed over 300 Powerwalls in Hawaiian schools to cool down hot classrooms

As part of a state initiative, Tesla deployed over 300 Powerwalls in schools to cool down hot classrooms in Hawaii.

Hawaii has a problem with hot temperatures in public classrooms that is affecting students negatively. The problem was so significant that the Hawaii State Department of Education had to intervene.

They put together a $100 million fund, which has already helped cool down 1,190 classrooms to date, with contracts set for more than 1,300 classrooms, according to The Garden Island.

In order to roll out the program without significantly increasing energy costs for public schools, they partnered with Tesla to pair Powerwalls with solar power to reduce the impact of running the air conditioners in classrooms across the state.

It also resulted in an interesting learning opportunity about renewable energy and energy storage for students.

Tesla produced the following video about it:

Electrek’s Take

It’s definitely a good use of energy storage, though I find the actual setup shown in the video and pictured above particularly strange.

Tesla appears to have combined 12 Powerwalls at a single location.

That’s over 150 kWh of energy capacity. In the past, we have seen Tesla use single Powerpack systems instead of its home battery pack – like a single Tesla Powerpack battery that saved an Australian town over $1.5 million in grid connection costs.

Either way, it seems to be doing the job.

Hawaii has some of the highest electricity rates in the country, which is why they have heavily invested in solar energy. The state also has several initiatives to combine their renewable energy production with energy storage.

Tesla is actively involved in several of those initiatives – primarily with its 52 MWh Tesla Powerpack installation and 13 MW solar farm in Kauaʻi.