Tesla recently unveiled its Tesla Energy system that will initially feature two products: the Powerwall, designed to power homes, and the Powerpack, for businesses and possibly public utilities. The Powerwall rechargeable lithium-ion battery will be available in 7 kWh and 10 kWh models, while the Powerpack will come in 100 kWh battery blocks with a reach of 10 Mwh and higher. Powerwalls have already been available to select customers, and Powerpacks will become available once Tesla’s Gigafactory goes online.

“The system is connected to the Internet — Elon Musk said that the system can be used to create ‘smart microgrids’ — and can be used as a redundancy system, or potentially allow a home to go off the power grid entirely,” reports The Verge.

The 7kWh model is priced at $3,000 and the 10 kWh model runs $3,500 (excluding installation and inverter).

One use of the battery in the home could be to power one of Tesla’s electric vehicles using excess energy collected during the daytime. “Batteries can absorb surplus power and flow it back into the grid when needed, evening out supply and demand, something called load shifting,” explains the post. 

On a larger scale, the Powerpack is described by Tesla “as an ‘infinitely scalable system’ that can work for businesses, in industrial applications, and even public utility companies,” The Verge reports.

“[Musk] went on to say that he sees the Gigafactory under construction in Nevada as a product, the first of many. With 160 million Powerpacks, we could power the United States, he said, and with 2 billion, the world.”

The batteries would allow home owners and businesses to ramp up their storage capabilities, which will be especially important with the growth of renewable energy sourced electricity.

Musk has already planned to work alongside SolarCity to expand upon a pilot program that currently pairs SolarCity panels with Tesla batteries in an effort to drive solar costs down.

For more information, visit the Tesla Energy press kit.