Tesla, the leading player in renewable energy has announced the completion of its worldwide energy storage, having a size of almost half of the total energy storage installed across the globe last year.
The company installed the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery in Australia last November. In Ta’u, the Pacific island of American Samoa, diesel power has been replaced by a solar microgrid featuring 60 large Powerpack batteries of Tesla.
Kauai of Hawaii has a solar firm that stores energy generated during the day and releases it at night with the help of Tesla batteries. A Tesla Powerpack system in Southern California takes care of energy demand by substituting fossil-fuel-powered plants.
After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Elon Musk offered and provided emergency power via his company. Now, they are installing permanent microgrids. Also, over 1,000 households on the island use Tesla Powerwalls that can be connected to each other forming virtual power plants!
Presently, the company is working with the Australian government to distribute solar panels and batteries to as many as 50,000 homes in the country. The network will work together to supply clean energy to the grid.
The current market scenario of renewable energy resembles its expansive growth while becoming cheaper. Battery storage has become inexpensive up to 73% between 2010 and 2016, down from $1,000 a kilowatt-hour to $273. Experts predict that 2020 will see it drop to $145 a kilowatt-hour, and 2025 will have it to $69.5.
Batteries are not just used to store any kind of energy but also to provide wind power when there’s no wind and to generate solar power during the night. Add these facts with Tesla’s contributions and the evolving market of batteries, and imagine the number of renewable energy solutions our world will have for future generations.
Elon Musk gave an estimate in 2015 that 2 billion Powerpacks are required for fulfilling the energy needs of the entire world. JB Straubel, co-founder, and CTO of Tesla, said: “Even at 300%, we’ll need to grow it this way for decades, frankly, to really solve the problem. And not just us, but other companies need to get involved, too.”
