Tesla and Panasonic Team Up–And the Results Are Staggering
Here’s a reminder of how quickly things can change in today’s world of rapidly developing technology. Tesla has made a wholesale replacement of energy sources on American Samoa, from diesel generators that previously burned 109K gallons of dirty fuel per year that had to be shipped thousands of miles, to solar PV and battery storage.All this is becoming possible via Tesla’s strategic megadeal with Panasonic, as explained in this article: Panasonic to invest over $256 million in Tesla’s US plant for solar cells. Together, the two seem to be poised for exponential growth, not only in electrification projects like this one, but in the expansion of electric transportation as well, where plans are in place to mass-produce affordable EVs and distribute them into world markets. Note: Panasonic is already Tesla’s vendor for the batteries in the Model S and Model X platforms, but the volumes contemplated from here will dwarf what’s been done in the past.
As I like to say about Elon Musk: Anyone who bets against him is an idiot.
This is excellent, and it clearly illustrates the increasingly well-known potential in this space.
We’re in a death or life contest between the dug in heels and grudging mule-headedness of entrenched interests on the one hand, and on the other the enlightened entrepreneurs and public servants who can engineer and facilitate the necessary transition to sustainability.
May the best humans win.
Craig,
This is very good news! All over the world both solar, wind, Geothermal are making a significant contribution to reducing fossil fuel energy generation in specialist applications.
Samoa is not unique, but the glamour of Elon Musk and Tesla, helps adoption and credibility. This project was funded by the the US and is a credit to US technology and generosity.
Tesla may have only produced a relatively small number of vehicles, but the quality has remained consistently high. Tesla’s success serves as a great example of the value of “the trickle down effect”.
Commercialization of technical innovation is mostly financed by this method. New products or features are sold at high prices to affluent ‘first adopters’, then as market acceptance increases, volume production and the accompanying unit savings make the product or feature, available to the mass market.
However, it would be a mistake to inappropriately extrapolate specialist applications to conclude the same technologies can be always be applied to different circumstances or environments.