Article

by Hannah Moore

May 5, 2015—SolarCity customers will soon be the first to test out Tesla Motor’s sustainable batteries for home and business. Elon Musk, Tesla founder and SolarCity chairman, unveiled the company’s latest battery system “Powerwall” last Thursday and announced that Tesla is offering the system to the San Mateo-based solar supplier, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

SolarCity has already begun taking orders for Powerwall and installation starts this October, according to EcoWatch. The system’s price is more than 60 percent off the previous price of solar power storage products.

This new battery system is not only a big milestone for the electric car company, but will also impact SolarCity-powered homes and businesses across the nation. Powerwall’s benefits are sure to go beyond providing light during a power outage or after sunset. Powerwall contains a solar battery, inverter and monitoring system which serves as back-up power when the grid is down. It also makes zero emissions and replaces fossil fuel generators.

With this technology, customers can potentially sustain off-the-grid by using the green, renewable energy. SolarCity states that the battery can store energy at optimum production and release it later. This process is also done at half the cost of current systems.

SolarCity will include the Tesla batteries in its DemandLogic storage system for business use. When prices are high, this storage system dispenses stored power. Solarcity will also use the batteries in GridLogic, a service that gives clean power to distant communities.

SolarCity and Tesla strive to lessen climate change by curbing usage of fossil fuels and advance rooftop solar power.

Solarcity is the largest solar power provider in the U.S. The company makes clean energy accessible to homeowners, businesses, schools and other organizations and at a lower price than fossil fuel energy such as coal, oil and natural gas would be paid for.

Founded in 2003 by Silicon Valley engineers, Tesla specializes in sustainable transportation with the goal of proving that electric cars are better than gas-fueled cars. Their mission is to increase the world’s transition to sustainable transportation.