We Need Solar Energy – The Powerwall Makes it Possible
Let’s face it.
None of us wants to live without energy, power.
We take it for granted that we’ll have an internet connection, fuel for our cars or for public transport, and be able to run heaters or air conditioning.
And that’s one of the big problems we face globally.
We know we need to reduce our carbon emissions to help slow climate change. But it’s difficult to imagine a world without electricity.
And that’s why Elon Musk’s Powerwall presentation really resonated with me.
Unlike most new product launches, it wasn’t full of hype about, for example, a new phone that’s going to change the world. How? Oh, it’s a fraction thinner than last year’s model.
No.
The Tesla Powerwall battery really can change the world, and give us a better future with solar energy.
Watch the video or read the highlights below –your choice
Most of our energy today comes from fossil fuels which are very polluting and are a direct cause of climate change. If we do nothing, we’ll all deserve the Darwin Award.
Related: 16 dramatic photos show our danger.
Related: How many will you get right in this climate change quiz ?
The sun, on the other hand, produces solar energy and is a perfect solution. A fusion reactor. We don’t have to do anything, it just works. And it shows up every day.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s NOT going to millions of acres of solar farms to generate enough power to replace fossil fuels completely.
In fact, it takes up a surprisingly small amount of space.
And – it gets better – in most countries, most of that space would be on the roofs of existing buildings, so you wouldn’t even need to change land use!
Of course, the sun doesn’t shine at night. Plus, the amount of sunlight varies each day.
But batteries will overcome those problems, because they will store the energy captured during the day.
Current batteries are ugly, expensive, don’t last long and aren’t truly scalable.
Tesla market their new battery, the Powerwall, as “The Missing Piece” in solar energy.
The solar energy battery is attractive, and designed to be wall-mounted, so it doesn’t take up any space.
For homes, you have safety and security knowing that if the grid fails (for example in a storm), you’ll still have power for heat and light. You could even go completely off grid if you wish.
The smallest battery costs about $3,500.
It’s also great for remote areas, and for parts of the world where there isn’t an existing grid, or if it’s unreliable. Imagine a world without electric power lines!
It’s like how mobile phone development outran land lines. I’ve seen parts of Africa without any land line phones at all, and people use mobile phones instead. It’s the same concept.
But what about industry? Much more power is needed.
For that, Tesla has the PowerPack. Which is infinitely scalable
Musk believes it is truly possible to transition the world to solar energy.
- 160 million PowerPacks will transition the entire United States to solar energy.
- 2 billion PowerPacks will transition the entire world to solar energy.
Of course, 2 billion is a huge number. But Musk points out that there are about 2 billion vehicles on our roads, which get refreshed every 20 years. There are about 100 million new cars and trucks produced each year. So it is possible, we have done things like this before.
Many of the technology patents will be made available to competitors so that it can be spread around the world.
This was the first time that I had heard of a solar energy plan which seems feasible and would make it possible to eliminate our fossil fuel dependency.
And I take great hope from that for the future of humankind.
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