Emerging technologies are enabling people and communities to become self-sufficient and according to think tank RethinkX the disruption of five key sectors is imminent in Information, Energy, Food, Transport and Materials. This think tank predicts that emerging technologies will reduce the cost currently associated with these sectors at least 10X by 2030.
For this post we will focus on solar and the advances being made in battery technology developed to store this abundant source of energy. With solar energy being freely available from the sun it is expected that the cost of solar technology will significantly decrease from the current relatively high levels when compared to existing electricity powered by fossil fuel based systems.
What is solar energy?
In simple terms solar energy is ’radiant energy from the sun’. The diagram below illustrates how this energy can be captured and be utilized to power a homes needs, with any excess capacity being sold back to the utility grid!
In 2016 Tesla Motors Corporation acquired Solar City for $2,6bn, a company founded in 2006 by Peter and Lyndon Rive (cousins of Elon Musk). In addition to Tesla and Spacex, Musk was also Chairman of Solar City as he sort to advance the agenda to create energy storage capacity for both Tesla vehicles and for homes. He had previously encouraged his cousins to establish the company as a key area of disruption in the energy sector. Musk’s vision is to accelerate transition of the world towards sustainable energy.
Solar City based in San Mateo, California is now a division of the merged entity renamed Tesla Corporation and it specializes in solar energy services including residential battery backup services that incorporates Tesla’s Powerwall 3, with a capacity to store 14 kWH of which 13,5 kWh is usable. The typical amount of power needed in an average house for normal consumption is 9.2 kW or 9200 watts as you typically do not use all the appliances in the house at once, according to Energuide.
The Powerwall and Powerpack are rechargeable Lithium-ion battery and stationery products manufactured by Tesla. This system is guaranteed for 10 years and is a game changer in this category, providing peace of mind for users particularly in places with unreliable utility electricity supply. The upfront cost is currently high but the savings post the initial investment are huge.
The latest version, the Powerwall 3 currently costs $6 500, with the supporting hardware costing $1 100, and installation costs between $2 000-$3 000. The total installed value ranges between $9 600 – $10 600.
Solar roofs and solar panels
Tesla is offering various solutions in this category for its US customers where users can install solar panels on an existing roof or complete solar roof tiles. This is an exciting and revolutionary innovation which is going to completely change how communities power generation needs are met. The video below gives a great overview on the costs, benefits and how transformational the solar roofs are.
In conclusion, the developments in this space hold significant promise, particularly in the cost to acquire solar power for energy consumers. Tesla is focused on driving down the costs of solar products and batteries as improvements are made to the technology.
For Africa which generally gets plenty of sunshine it seems only logical that Tesla would set up manufacturing facilities there to produce these products especially since 30% of global supply of the primary raw material used to manufacture the batteries is sourced from Africa. Cobalt is found in abundance in Namibia and Zimbabwe making these two countries ideal locations for a Gigafactory.