{"id":28007,"date":"2015-05-02T20:35:35","date_gmt":"2015-05-02T10:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=28007"},"modified":"2019-04-16T13:31:22","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:31:22","slug":"tesla-battery-launch-a-revolutionary-energy-solution-for-climate-says-takvera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/tesla-battery-launch-a-revolutionary-energy-solution-for-climate-says-takvera\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Battery launch a revolutionary #energy solution for #climate says @takvera"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Elon<\/a>

Elon Musk launching Tesla Energy products<\/p><\/div>\n

\nIn a remarkable 20 minute presentation on Thursday night, Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Paypal and Tesla Motors, launched a scalable battery storage system aimed at multiple markets: from personal home use, small business to utility scale electricity storage.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt is the missing jigsaw piece to the solar and renewables revolution already under way in replacing fossil fuel power generation. Elon Musk outlined the critical problem of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions from an ageing fossil fuel infrastructure, explained how it can be addressed, and launched an innovative product that could plausibly make a substantial contribution as a solution.\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of the traditional arguments against a high level of renewables in our electricity grid has been the need for constant baseload power that needs to be provided by coal, gas peaking turbines, or nuclear. This argument was always false, as several reports have shown (Rocky Mountains Institute at Clean Technica<\/a>, Mark Diesendorf at The Conversation<\/a>, Dr David Mills at ABC Science<\/a>), but nevertheless it provided a powerful, if faulty argument for maintaining our aging fossil fuel generation capacity.\n<\/p>\n

\nOur energy grid is built upon generating power constantly to meet the demand at any particular point in time. Variable sources of energy such as wind and solar have been steadily growing as a proportion of grid supply, but studies have shown that network demand has a lot of natural variability anyway<\/a>. Both wind and solar generation are able to be forecast over short day-length or so periods, and thus managed as part of the normal regulation of grid demand and response. Relatively cheap energy storage will enable some fine network adjustment to power output, while aiding in decentralisation of power generation and storage. It adds a missing piece of the puzzle which aids in transitioning to a 100 per cent renewables energy system.\n<\/p>\n

\nTesla Energy has provided an innovative solution to matching that need, and also driving down the price of battery storage systems.\n<\/p>\n

\nBut it wasn’t all roses with Karl Mathiesen in the Guardian<\/em> questioning Will Tesla’s home battery really transform our energy infrastructure?<\/a>, highlighting that installation costs are not included and the investment payback time in the UK may be in excess of 10 years at current pricing. According to a Forbes<\/em> article, cheap electrical storage could also kill nuclear power<\/a>, but quite a few people think that would be a good idea, anyway.\n<\/p>\n

\nMusk’s Powerwall product is aimed at the consumer and small business market, is ready to plug in to work with existing solar panels and the grid. And it will come in multiple colours for those concerned about integrating it as part of their house or garage interior design.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe 7kWh Powerwall battery will be priced at US$3000 and a 10kWh powerwall will be US$3500. The battery packs are configured to be scalable to 90kWh, so multiple batteries can be utilised if necessary.\n<\/p>\n

\n“It has all the integrated safety systems, the thermal controls, the DC to DC convertor. It is designed to work very well with solar systems right out of the box, and it addresses all the needs.” said Musk.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt will also give electricity consumers a relatively easy and inexpensive option to go completely off grid. That opportunity must really scare the power utilities. Although most of their retail customers may not leave them, it will cause a minority to go off grid for a number of reasons, including economics and disaster risk management. Many people are joining the dots that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather is increasing due to climate change and solar PV plus battery storage provides a measure of disaster risk management.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Very importantly, this is going to be a great solution for people in remote parts of the world where there is no electricity wires, or where the electricity is extremely intermittent, extremely expensive. So you can take the Tesla Powerwall and scale globally.” said Musk.\n<\/p>\n

\n“What we will see is something similar to cell phones versus landlines, where the cell phones leapfrogged the landlines: there wasn’t a need to put landlines in a lot of countries in remote locations. So people in a remote village or island somewhere can take solar panels, combine it with the Tesla Powerwall and never have to worry about having electricity lines.” he explained.\n<\/p>\n

\nTesla Energy has also built an industrial scale 100kWh Power pack. “The Tesla Powerpack is designed to scale infinitely” said Musk, “You can literally make this into a Gigawatt class solution….We already have one utility that wants to do a 250mWh installation just using the Powerpack.”\n<\/p>\n

\nMusk outlined that a small city like Boulder could be powered – about 1 gWh capacity using about 10,000 Powerpacks.\n<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/a>

Tesla Energy utility scale Powerpack product<\/p><\/div>\n

\n“What is really needed to transition the world to sustainable energy? Is this actually possible? Is it something within the capacity of humanity to do? Or is it something super-difficult, insurmountable impossible thing? It is not. With 160 million Powerpacks you can transition the United States. With 900 million you can transition the world….If you wanted to transition all transport, all electricity generation and all heating to renewable you would need approximately 2 billion Powerpacks. That may seem like an insane number… but it is not. The number of cars and trucks we have on the road is approximately 2 billion, and every 20 years that gets refreshed; there is about 100 million new cars and trucks every year. This is actually within the power of humanity to do.”\n<\/p>\n

\nElon Musk is a new style of innovator and entrepreneur. They are finding new business models and innovative business solutions to tackle the threat of climate change. Instead of hoarding patents like most businesses, Musk has made the various technology patents effectively open source<\/a>. He understands that his company can’t make the changes alone, and thus has opened up the research and innovation his company has done to stimulate competitors work and to grow the industry more rapidly.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We think many other companies need to build Gigafactory class operations of their own. We hope they do. The Tesla policy of open sourcing of patents will continue for the Gigafactory, for the powerpack and all these other things.” Musk said to loud cheers from the audience.\n<\/p>\n

\nMusk pointed to a chart of the Keeling curve showing the projected CO2 trend stretching up to 1000ppm by the end of the century, but also a trend of CO2 levelling out at 450ppm if we take rapid action in transitioning to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The path that I have talked about: the solar panels and the batteries. It is the only path that I know that can do this. This is something we must do, we can do and will do.” said Musk.\n<\/p>\n

\nFunnily enough traditional power utilities are also looking at the battery storage market.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the US and Europe Sonnenbatterie has teamed up with Danny Kennedy\u2019s Sungevity<\/a> to offer battery storage system to add to solar PV systems in the second half of 2015.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn Australia AGL Energy came out with an announcement for home energy storage option with 6kWh battery<\/a>, although they haven’t announced any pricing details. AGL Energy has substantial interests in coal fired generation and fracking in Australia resulting in the company being the largest single carbon pollter in Australia<\/a>, according to a recent Australian Conservation Foundation investigative report<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\nWatch Elon Musk’s Tesla Energy launch on Youtube<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n

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