Harnessing the Power of Solar
In the wake of much energy talk with the new administration in Washington, tech visionaries are still looking to smarter, sustainable forms of energy to power our homes, our cars, and our lives. The $2.6 dollar Tesla acquisition of SolarCity has had shareholders and the general public on their toes as skeptics note that both companies have had consecutive losses on an annual basis. But honestly, who’s going to phase Elon Musk? He’s un-stoppable and un-phased by failure — starting Tesla, SpaceX, Hyperloop, and has now acquired SolarCity. He’s looking to change the way people live, travel, and interact with the world at large.
Imagine a world where our efforts aren’t focused on reaping the earth of it’s oil, natural gas, and coal, but rather a self-sustaining world that promotes renewable energy, sustainability, and off-grid living. So what is Elon Musk’s vision? Make solar panels on homes, and cars, cheaper than traditional methods. Elon Musk has been working to merge the two companies since this last summer. Joining Tesla and SolarCity is central in the execution of his “Master Plan,” which aims to provide customers a decentralized approach to the power grid, energy solutions, and solar cars.
“It’s looking quite promising that a solar roof will actually cost less than a normal roof before you even take the value of electricity into account. So the basic proposition would be, ‘Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, last twice as long, cost less and by the way generates electricity?’ Why would you get anything else?” -Elon Musk
SolarCity and Tesla have the perfect combination of functions to make mass adoptions for the solar panel possible. SolarCity, a company that focuses on putting solar panels on the roofs of residential and commercial buildings, didn’t invent the solar panel, but like many large manufacturing companies have done in the past they have perfected their process — efficient assembly, economies of scale, vertical integration, and innovative financing options. In addition, they continually seek to find ways to expand their market. Tesla, on the other hand, focuses on efficient modes of transportation — from the way we power our cars to how they are designed and where they are made. Focusing on harnessing electricity as the source of power for Tesla’s cars has caught quite the attention from the oil and gas industry as Tesla continually tries to reduce our reliance on traditional forms of power — coal, natural gas, and oil. Tesla’s car models have had lower production than any other manufacturers and a higher initial investment — which they are working to decrease on their new models — but none-the-less they’ve shaped the revolution for sexy electric mass-market sports cars.
To this date, Elon Musk has always believed his battery systems and the efficiencies of those systems are what is going to change the world. The gigafactory Tesla built in Nevada last year was a signal that we will finally reach a new generation in battery production, storage, and capacity — and with that, have a profound impact on the future of energy. It’s even said that this gigafactory could end up doubling the worlds’ production of lithium-ion batteries. By owning the design, manufacturing, and distribution channels for batteries and solar panels (and therefore the patents for each) Tesla has the opportunity to bring fully engrained systems to the home and the car.
In their most recent foray into solar, SolarCity and Tesla teamed up for an experiment into a nation that was reliant on diesel for power — burning 109,500 gallons of fuel per year. Fixing the island of Ta’u in American Samoa’s reliance on diesel and their spotty power grid, Tesla and SolarCity used solar cells to create a battery storage-enabled microgrid that can supply nearly 100 percent of the island’s power.
Producing 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity from 5,328 solar panels and 6 megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Powerpacks, Ta’u can stay powered for over 3 days without sun and can recharge the entire system in just 7 hours of sunlight. To make it even more impressive, the entire system was implemented within just one year from start to finish — making it one of the most complex microgrids to date.
Elon Musk has always been a visionary in the transportation space, working to create alternative forms of efficient, sustainable modes of public and personal transportation. The acquisition of SolarCity gets him one step closer to developing a fully solar car that powers itself and charges without use of fuel or wall electricity. Working with some of the patents SolarCity has on solar panels and tiles, Musk is working to create a proprietary solar roof for the new Tesla’s — not only functional, but beautiful.
“Given (SolarCity’s) financial condition and recent reduction in guidance, we have assumed zero value for (SolarCity) equity to (Tesla) shareholders,” the analysts said. Tesla’s “ultimate outcome” and share performance will continue to be dominated by its core automobile and transportation business, they said. -MarketWatch
While there are a few skeptics and analysts that have said that the merger will offer zero value to the evaluation of both companies, some believe this is the start to the evolution of sustainable, off-grid, self-powering industries. The challenge for Tesla and SolarCity is making sustainable mass market products more reliable, cheaper, and “cooler” than traditional products. With a record high levels of CO2 in our atmosphere, Tesla’s mission has always been to help solve the world’s energy problem by promoting sustainability. To achieve this, energy needs to be sustainably generated, sustainably stored for later use, and sustainably used in our lives. Sustainability and design will be become one, creating better products that push us as humans, as thinkers, and as designers. Sustainable design must promote clean energy, new forms of mobility, and updated legislation that pushes businesses and people to think of sustainability as profitability. Let’s power our lives through the power of the sun.
