The Tesla Model S battery shown here is coming to your house. (pic: cool-electric-cars.com)
Solar energy’s Great Leap Forward in efficiency and viability is about to be joined by its natural twin, solar battery storage.
This scenario, which was hinted at by electric car manufacturer Tesla during the week, will reverberate around the energy community and send shudders down the collective spines of fossil fuel providers and their defenders in the halls of power.
Though the news is all in the form of “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” style of public relations, the smart money is that it the product will be a battery, not a car. Actually two batteries according to Business Insider; one designed for homes and a “utility” scale battery for businesses.
The relevant quote from the company about the April 30 launch was opaque to say the least.
“[We] …will explain the advantages of our solutions and why past battery options were not compelling.” said Khobi Brooklyn, a Tesla spokeswoman, adding that “we’ll share more information next week”.
Earlier in February company CEO Elon Musk was more direct, telling investors that “We are going to unveil the Tesla home battery, the consumer battery that would be for use in people’s houses or businesses fairly soon”.
Despite the lack of information, the hint has been enough to send news sources hearts aflutter, with the assumption of a couple of relevant points:
- The company has advised it will announce something “big” on April 30.
- Tesla chief Elon Musk has hinted at two types of battery. One a “utility” type battery for businesses, the other a more robust version of ones currently available on the market that are enough to power a house.
Tesla has of course spent a motza on developing efficient batteries for their electric cars so why not use that expertise to divert into home and business battery market? The news, if the rumours do appear to be correct, means that more players will focus on solar energy as a major source of their energy. This due to the new viability of solar battery storage.
The question of whether the announcement will be as groundbreaking as early reports have it is joined by another: How long before we see the perceived benefits of the new battery in Australia?
As we have discussed before, Australians — despite an often glaring lack of leadership in our capitals — have always embraced solar energy. This for a number of reasons: financial, environmental and a willingness to be part of the new wave in energy.
Likewise will businesses see the potential of Tesla utility scale batteries?
Most importantly: How much of a threat is this to the traditional energy grid?
It would be fairly safe to say that Australians would also embrace affordable solar battery storage to accompany their love of solar panels. The key is cost though, and we await details from Tesla as to the viability of their new range of solar battery storage. For an in depth article of the current situation on battery storage vs the grid see Ronald Brakels excellent article here.
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