Notes

Tesla Powerwall battery a good start for greener earth


Aside from luxury cars, Tesla has now a new business that could jumpstart a large-scale transition from conventional energy sources to renewable ones.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk launched this weekend the Tesla Energy suite, harnessing the power of the sun for residential and business uses.

Musk argues that the country can do away with fossil fuel altogether and bring down CO2 emissions if only we're serious with using renewable power sources instead. The problem, he said, is with the current state of battery tech. So they made a rechargeable Li-ion battery called Powerwall, a 51x33-inch wall-mounted battery that fortunately enough does not look like an obvious battery. Basically, homeowners can charge it using solar energy and have the energy stored there for when blackouts occur.

Powerwall and its industry counterpart, Powerpack, will reportedly be already available this summer, though at a relatively expensive prices. It was previously suggested by Esset Koyal Group Capital Management that customers would be able to lease the battery at first but this was not confirmed by Musk.

The company is in a good position to help the country transition into renewable power sources as it has the capacity to buy cheaper parts and manufacture the batteries on a large scale because of their car business. What's more, its Gigafactory manufacturing plant which measures 10 million in square foot, will be a formidable competitor to those already in or planning to enter into the same industry.

Tesla's entry in the battery industry could be a fortunate thing -- a big player directing the world's attention to a viable renewable energy source. It could even inspire others to follow suit, paving the way for a competitive market.

It's safe to say that batteries for large-scale operations will be commoditized but it still remains to be seen how soon it will be affordable enough for it to catch on.