Tesla Motors plans to announce that it has solved the biggest problem with alternative energy. Energy Storage.
Elon Musk hinted about an announcement for a new product line for renewable energy storage last week, suddenly, that dream became a step closer to becoming reality.
“It signals that the storage market is at a point where end customers have been looking for big companies to have their product in the market,” said Ravi Manghani, an analyst for GTM Research. “It’s a small-but-growing [and] very competitive space and Tesla’s putting its stake on the market.”
Tesla will have a big impact on this conversation and the progression of the energy storage industry, but of course, the announcement can’t change the course of history on its own — so don’t get too excited. We still need government regulations and changes in utility models,
Ah. Government regulation. That is kind of an implicit admission that the devices are not profitable.
Lets run the numbers. the average home in the US uses 909 KWh a month. Divide by 24 hours in a day and 30 days in a month and you get about 1,250 watts on an average basis.
We don’t have any real numbers yet but the article estimates a $13,000 cost (ouch) for a 6 KWh battery. That battery will run your home for about 5 hours. Suppose you are paying 25 cents a KWh for electricity (electric power plus grid services). It will take you 52,000 hours of battery use to break even. Assuming the cost of charging the battery is zero. Which it is not. That is about 6 years if the battery charging time is zero. Which it is not. And that assumes the battery will operate that long. No battery life is given. Typically lithium batteries last 3 years. But let us say this one lasts 6 with out declining in capacity until it needs to be replaced. That means you can’t break even for the life of the battery unless your electricity cost is zero and your charging time is zero. And that is the most optimistic scenario possible. And assumes the time cost of money is zero.
And BTW since your house is now a source of electricity your service will need to be upgraded with an automatic cut off switch for times when grid power goes to zero. Both to save your charge for your use and to keep grid electricians from getting electrocuted from unexpected power while making grid repairs.
The answer? It is always the answer. Men with guns can make the uneconomic seem reasonable.
Every tax, every regulation comes with it an army of bureaucrats and behind that an army (with guns) of enforcers.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
I’m sick and tired of phony crony capitalists.
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12 responses to “Tesla Is Selling Batteries”
“Drivers of this [electric energy storage] growth include aging grid infrastructure, growing renewable penetration, high retail electricity prices for end-customers, and backup power for natural disasters and adverse weather events.”
“You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”
Senator B.O., January 2008
This in a time of record low natural gas and coal real prices. Residential rates spiked 2008 in California and have stayed high, despite natural gas falling to less than 1/4 of its 2008 price.
Crony capitalists get great ROI.
The article I saw had the price of a 10kWh pack at $3500. That includes a DC/DC converter for battery management, but not an inverter. I assume the battery life can be many years if you do not drain them below 50%, which gives an effective capacity of 5kWh.
Now, that might be pretty cost effective, if you live in an area where you have frequent brownouts and you want to use it as essentially a UPS for your central air heat pump. Given that the the EPA is about to reduce most of the U.S. grid to third-world conditions, Musk had better have a lot of capacity at his new factory.
Neil,
I believe a cheaper way to go is a natural gas burning engine. The costs would be about the same and your capacity is a run time of days not a few hours.
It is rare that natural gas and electric power go out at the same time.
A small battery to cover switch over time (15 to 30 seconds) would be just fine.
I suggest that for marketing purposes Mr. Musk develop something similar to the Energizer Bunny. Perhaps the Super Powerful Musk Ox.
Gas and coal may be cheap in dollars, but their costs are high in pollution, clear cutting, land grabbing.
>Gas and coal may be cheap in dollars, but their costs are high in pollution, clear cutting, land grabbing.<
simple minded bullshit
Simon,
I think the up-front costs would be similar, but if you’re having brownouts every day or two, the natural gas costs will add up. A battery/inverter system would require essentially no maintenance, too.
If you’re worried about longer outages due to storms, a dual fuel diesel/propane generator is your best bet.
Jenny May 1st, 2015,
You might want to look into iron mines. Esp. taconite.
Don’t know about taconite. Will check. Am expecting that to be a snipe at me. Am also used to that here.
Have family members anticipating a pipeline coming through their county without too much welcome. Eminent domain, much? OK for libertarians much.
The next time you develop a complicated process the first try, let us know. In fact, these computers are really so limited, let’s chuck them.
Electricity is $.085/kWh where I live. It would take a LOT of hours to equal $13,000.
Reliability is goods, minor interruptions maybe every other year.
The price for a battery to run a needs to be a tenth or less to be practical. And it still needs to be charged. Solar is still a loser in most of the US. The charge has to come from somewhere. Like the existing grid. Just might maybe makes sense for isolated locations.
Mostly this and “renewable energy” is just a masturbation fantasy for the Ed Begeley jr. types – more money than sense.
If one of these billionaires really wanted to revolutionize energy production they should fund thorium reactor development.
jenny,
I’m all for development of these devices. We might get some where someday.
What I oppose is what amounts to mass marketing automobiles a year after their invention. There is no reason for this except subsidies.
https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/the-madness-of-germanys-energy-socialism/
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Things like pipelines and power distribution and roads give collective benefit. Which is why there is eminent domain. To be used sparingly.