Tesla, Inc reported significantly lower than guided solar installations for the fourth quarter of 2016, after the first quarter of integration of acquired SolarCity.
The lack of information in a joint press release from Tesla and Panasonic, confirming a solar cell manufacturing partnership at the SolarCity/Silevo 1GW Buffalo fab in New York State was not a surprise, especially considering it merely rubber stamped an MOU previously announced that was only subject to the successful acquisition by Tesla of SolarCity.
Tesla and Panasonic’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert has now started making high performance cylindrical battery cells of the type used in its stationary storage and forthcoming Model 3.
Nanoelectronics research centre imec said that copper-based solar cells have reached the same reliability standards as traditional silver-based solar cells in recently completed rapid-cycle testing of a limited number of specially prepared modules.
The soon-to-be-merged Tesla and SolarCity have completed a solar-plus-storage microgrid on an island in American Samoa that will reduce the local population’s reliance on costly and cumbersome diesel imports.
The markets can be a frustrating place for the solar industry. Just ask Elon Musk. The negative perception of the SolarCity/Tesla merger often signals a lack of awareness of how far solar, energy storage and EVs have come.
Tesla/SolarCity have announced the launch of a building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) residential roofing system comprised of a range of different tile formats, colours and coatings that aesthetically as possible mirror common conventional tile formats. The solar tiles can be provided as a retrofit option to the replacement of an existing aged tiled roof or as a new build alternative to standard residential roofing systems.
