Tesla’s Solar Energy
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The Future Looks Bright for Tesla’s Solar Energy
We all love bright, sunny days. They’re great for taking a walk or a drive, picnics, ballgames, yardwork, the list goes on and on. Elon Musk loves them, too – for all those reasons, and one more.
Tesla’s electric vehicle business is its main source of revenue right now and will remain so for the foreseeable future. But Tesla Energy, the automaker’s energy division, could be the company’s next massive growth opportunity.
In fact, Musk has a vision of combining the clean energy consumption of electric vehicles with clean energy generation of solar power and energy storage. Tesla’s electric cars, and electric vehicles in general, get cleaner as the electric grid gets cleaner, and solar and energy storage help achieve that.
The company’s energy effort is a way to optimize the green impact of its automotive business, but it’s also big business. As of last quarter, Tesla’s automotive business was bringing in over $7.6 billion compared to $550 million for its energy business.
There are a few things that are going to drive Tesla Energy in 2021 and elevate the business to a whole new level.
Photo Source: tesla.com
Tesla Solar Roof
Anticipating that Tesla Solar Roof would become an in-demand product, Tesla Solar went on a hiring spree over the last year, bringing on scores of roofers and solar roof installers. Now the company is prepared to handle hundreds of solar roofs per week during the second half of 2021.
A real estate developer in Florida has unveiled what he claims is the state's largest Tesla Solar Roof install. The ChoZen Retreat, an environment-focused resort on the 22,000-acre Saint Sebastian nature preserve in Florida, is topped by an impressive 44-kilowatt Solar Roof. It's earned the praise of Elon Musk. "One of the best Tesla Solar Roof installations," Musk wrote on his Twitter page. The solar-harvesting tiles look like standard roof tiles to the untrained eye, and blend in seamlessly with non-solar dummy tiles.
Photo Source: tesla.com
Storing That Energy
The installation uses close to 800 panels to harvest DC electricity, which is channeled to inverters to convert it to usable AC electricity. It’s then fed into Powerwall batteries that store energy, detect outages and automatically become a home's energy source when the grid goes down. Unlike gasoline generators, Powerwall keeps the lights on and phones charged without upkeep, fuel or noise. Pair with solar and recharge with sunlight to keep appliances running for days. In fact, with a Tesla Model 3 electric car, a household can have complete zero-emissions energy usage!
The growth of the product is solely dependent on battery supply and Tesla’s ability to ramp up production. Powerwall basically has infinite demand right now.
Photo Source: tesla.com
Managing That Storage
For electric power companies, Tesla’s Autobidder product is going to help manage all that new storage capacity and optimize its value. In addition to asset management, Autobidder offers several other useful features:
Price Forecasting
Load Forecasting
Generation Forecasting
Dispatch Optimization
Smart Bidding
But even if few customers buy the Solar Roof – you'd need to be buying a roof for the cost to make sense – it can still serve a useful purpose. At the company's Battery Day in September 2020, Musk unveiled a plan to produce enough batteries to transition the world onto clean energy. Musk aims to grow the energy side of the business from around seven percent to 50 percent of revenue long-term.
Home Solar Power is Blowing Up
Despite the pandemic, home solar installations were 21% higher in the first 7 months of 2020 compared to the first 7 months of 2019. That may be because people on lockdown became more aware of home energy costs and also just went on a stir-crazy home improvement frenzy, or simply had the time for a home improvement frenzy. However, solar power installations have been growing more or less continuously as costs have dropped, so 2020 installations were probably going to be up anyway.
Overall, rooftop solar power is up big, both in terms of new power capacity and electricity generation. In the first three quarters of 2020, US solar power was up to 3.4% of the country’s electricity generation, which was up from 2.7% in the first three quarters of 2019 and 2.3% in the first three quarters of 2018. And Tesla, best known for its electric cars, has also become a global player in solar energy and storage. Tesla Solar Roof installations tripled in the third quarter of 2020!
So, on the next cloudy day, think about how running all the electrical devices you use could be costing you…nothing! Stay well and think solar.
For more information, visit: www.tesla.com/solarroof