Tesla, SolarCity unveil battery storage products

OREANDA-NEWS. Solar energy developer SolarCity and car maker Tesla unveiled a new suite of energy storage products that can store solar energy for dispatch during times of peak demand to lower customers' costs.

The products seek to address a key challenge in utilizing solar energy to generate electricity. The problem is that solar energy generation tends to peak at midday, when the sun is shining most brightly, while energy demand is at its highest in the morning and evening. Without storage, excess solar power supplied in the daytime cannot be used on site.

The products, which are designed for home, business and utility-scale applications, can also act as a back-up energy source in cases of grid outages.

Tesla will market a wall-mounted rechargeable lithium-ion battery storage product to homeowners under the moniker Powerwall. The Powerwall system includes a battery, a liquid thermal control system and software that can link with a solar panel array. The 7kWh and 10kWh products will cost \$3,000 and \$3,500, respectively.

SolarCity will offer a 100KWh Tesla-branded battery in its energy storage system for commercial customers. The system is designed to draw on stored energy during times of peak demand to lower utility costs for customers.

The companies are launching a microgrid service, as well, which can operate as part of the electric grid or independently. The service could be used in locations that are susceptible to grid outages or have high electricity costs, such as islands and military bases. The microgrid can operate either with or independently of a utility grid.

SolarCity will begin to accept orders for the systems on 1 May and expects to begin installations in October. The companies will offer customers in Hawaii the option to install an off-grid power supply in the first half of 2016.