Hannah Cole
May/ 28/24
Tuesday, May 21st, 2024 a large bright yellow crane could be seen peeking above the Performing Arts Wing of Ramona High School causing many to wonder what it was being used for. The enormous crane was used to help install a Tesla battery wall in the student parking lot. The battery wall will now take up 8 parking spaces in the student lot and it will be able to power half of the high school and Olive Pierce Middle School in the event of an emergency.
Battery Walls made by Tesla are used to store energy which an electric company has processed after solar panels collect energy from the sun and send it to the utility company. Smaller versions are used by homes to collect energy and power homes during outages for shorter periods compared to the battery wall installed at Ramona High School.
“The battery wall is charged by the utility company, the solar panels back feed into the utility company not directly towards the battery,” says Matt Howard, a maintenance staff member at Ramona Unified School District.
Howard was a key component of the battery’s installation this week and its process to be approved, “this thing started two years ago. So the reason we didn’t have to pay for it was because it was funded by the state since the school is considered a sanctuary.” In the event of a natural disaster, or when the power is out and Ramona needs a gathering place, Ramona High School and Olive Peirce Middle School can keep power for three to four days. The Tesla battery could benefit students but also the rest of the community.
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