Jared Newman on Tesla’s plans to move into a new marketplace:
Tesla’s crusade against fossil fuels could soon hit home with a battery-powered energy pack.
The company plans to start producing a home battery within six months, Bloomberg reports, and will reveal more details in the next month or two.
One obvious application would be a source for backup power, replacing conventional fuel-powered generators. The upcoming Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered car can also function as a backup power source for a house. But the Tesla pack could also help shift energy usage to reduce peak demand on the electric grid, thereby cutting down on energy bills. In an earnings call, Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel hinted at strong interest from utility companies for that very reason.
Potentially, homes with renewable energy sources such as solar panels could also power the pack, allowing users to wean or remove themselves from the electric grid.
If the price point is low enough, this could be a big boost to fans of locally produced electricity from solar or wind power … being able to store the energy you generate so you can use it when you need it makes it much more attractive to invest in those technologies.
