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Tesla is powering an entire island with solar panels and batteries

Published

8 years ago

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The island of Ta’u in American Samoa, which has acquired power largely through diesel generators, is now nearing a year-long completion of a microgrid of Tesla Energy solar panels and batteries. The result will be a supply of nearly 100 percent of power needs for Ta’u’s 600 residents and a showcase for the recent Tesla-SolarCity merger.

Many island communities rely on diesel to maintain an electrical grid. But diesel is a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, is costly to ship, and can lead to frequent temporary blackouts. The whole island has been outfitted with a microgrid comprised of 5,328 solar panels from SolarCity and Tesla, along with 60 Tesla Powerpack units for energy storage. The system will allow the island to stay fully powered for three full days without sunlight, and its capacity will recharge fully in seven hours.

 

The project falls under the SolarCity subsidiary; Tesla completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity last Friday. Even in light of harsh criticism from financial and technology industry insiders, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has consistently described the acquisition as “blindingly obvious” — a necessary step in his so-called “Master Plan” to integrate clean energy generation and storage.

The benefits of the Ta’u microgrid, as revealed on a SolarCity blog post, may be life changing for its residents. The local hospital, high school, and elementary schools, fire and police stations, and local businesses may no longer need to worry about outages or rationing. But the biggest advantage is cost: Tau’s microgrid with more affordable solar energy will optimize system performance and maximize savings. The project was funded by American Samoan and U.S. authorities, including the Department of Interior.

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“This project will help lessen the carbon footprint of the world,” local resident Keith Ahsoon said. “Living on an island, you experience global warming firsthand. Beach erosions and other noticeable changes are a part of life here. It’s a serious problem, and this project will hopefully set a good example for everyone else to follow.”
 

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Carolyn Fortuna is a writer and researcher with a Ph.D. in education from the University of Rhode Island. She brings a social justice perspective to environmental issues. Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Google+

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Energy

Tesla Energy had a blockbuster 2024

Published

2 months ago

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December 31, 2024

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy has become the undisputed dark horse of the electric vehicle maker. This was highlighted by Tesla Energy’s growing role in the company’s overall operations in the past quarters. 

And as per Tesla’s year-end milestone posts on X, Tesla Energy had a blockbuster 2024.

Tesla Energy’s 2024 milestones:

  • As per Tesla on its official social media account on X, the company has hit over 800,000 Powerwalls installed worldwide. 
  • From this number, over 100,000 Powerwall batteries have been enrolled in virtual power plant (VPP) programs.
  • The Powerwall 3 has officially been launched in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand.
  • The Tesla Megapack hit over 22 GWh in operation across more than 60 countries across the globe.
  • The Lathrop Megafactory, which produces the Megapack, has been ramped to 40 GWh per year. 
  • The Lathrop Megafactory has also produced its 10,000th Megapack battery.
  • The Shanghai Megafactory was completed in just seven months, and it is ready to start Megapack production in Q1 2025.

Powerwall owners’ 2024 impact:

  • As per Tesla Energy, Powerwall owners generated a total of 4.5 TWh of solar energy globally in 2024. This was equivalent to powering a Model 3 for more than 17 billion miles.
  • A total of 1.1 TWh of energy was stored in Powerwalls in 2024. This protected homes from over 5.8 million outages during the year.
  • Tesla’s Storm Watch feature for Powerwall batteries covered 2.8 million severe weather events over the year.
  • Powerwall owners saw collective savings of over $800 million on utility bills.
  • Virtual Power Plants contributed over 2.2 GWh of power to the grid. This reduced the need for 2,200 metric tons of fossil fuel peaker plant emissions.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Energy

Utah’s rPlus Energies breaks ground on Tesla Megapack battery system

Published

5 months ago

on

September 24, 2024

By

Credit: Tesla

Utah-based rPlus Energies recently held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Green River Energy Center, a 400 MW solar PV and 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery storage project in Eastern Utah. Tesla Megapacks will be used as the upcoming facility’s battery storage solution. 

At 400 MW/1,600 MWh, the Green River Energy Center is expected to become one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects under development in the United States. Once operational, the facility would supply power to PacifiCorp under a power purchase agreement, as noted in a press release. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared his excitement for the project during the Green River Energy Center’s groundbreaking event. As per the Utah Governor, the solar and battery storage system represents a notable step forward for the state’s sustainable energy efforts. 

“This project is being built in rural Utah, by rural Utahns, and for all of Utah. When rural Utah thrives, the entire state prospers. Today, we’re not just breaking ground—we’re building a future of affordable, abundant energy in Utah,” the official noted. 

The Green River Energy Center secured over $1 billion in construction debt financing earlier this year. The facility is also expected to create about 500 jobs, many of which will be filled by local workers. With this in mind, the solar and battery farm would likely prove to be a boost to Emery County’s economy, enhancing tax revenue, strengthening public services, and offering long-term employment opportunities for the area’s residents. 

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Sundt Construction will serve as the project’s contractor, EliTe Solar will supply the solar modules, and Tesla will provide the battery storage system for the project. Luigi Resta, President and CEO of rPlus Energies, noted that the Green River Energy Center is special because of the entities that have worked together to make the facility a reality. 

“It’s the partners that make this project special, that have made this monumental project possible. From our equipment providers to the onsite talent, and the support of the local and regional community, we owe this project’s success to each of you,” he stated. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Energy

Tesla Energy loses director who brought Autobidder

Published

6 months ago

on

September 5, 2024

By

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla Energy is losing a director who brought Autobidder, a real-time trading and control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimization, to the company.

Rohan Ma, who has been at Tesla for just under eight years, announced he would depart the company on LinkedIn, aiming to take on a new opportunity elsewhere.

Ma posted:

“After eight years at Tesla, this will be my last week. It was a ride of a lifetime! Today, Tesla Energy is thriving and I can confidently say it’s in the best position it has ever been in to drive impact toward the original mission I signed up for. I’m proud to have contributed over the years to where it is now, and will be cheering the team on from the sidelines as they carry the torch forward and continue to relentlessly solve problems at the frontier of the energy transition.”

Ma started as the Senior Manager of Energy Optimization at Tesla back in November 2016. After four-and-a-half years at the position, he then moved on to a new role as the Director of Energy and Software Optimization. He has been in that role for over three years.

The exit of Ma is the latest in Tesla’s tough year in terms of losing high-level employees.

Earlier this year, as a part of widespread layoffs, Tesla eliminated up to 20 percent of its workforce and people like Rebecca Tinucci, who was the company’s Senior Director of EV Charging.

Tesla also lost Rohan Patel, Vice President of Global Public Policy and Business Development, and Martin Viecha, who was Head of Investor Relations, are just a few notables to depart.

Autobidder

Tesla’s Autobidder platform helps owners and operators make money by autonomously monetizing battery assets. It is a real-time trading and control platform that maximizes revenue according to business objectives and risk preferences.

Tesla Megapack, Autobidder to be deployed in big battery project in Queensland

Autobidder already has hundreds of megawatt-hours under management and continues to scale. It is hosted on Tesla’s secure cloud infrastructure that is engineered to handle large and complex computations.

Without Ma’s expertise, Autobidder would likely not be involved in Tesla’s Energy division at all, and although it is not frequently discussed, it is still a major part of the business’s growth over the past several years.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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