Tesla and SolarCity provided the whole island with energy

Tau Island, view from space (Source: NASA)

This week, Tesla Motors completed the merger process with SolarCity (the founder of both companies, Ilon Musk) through a mutual exchange of shares. In order to celebrate such a significant event, the leadership decided to tell about its project of electrification of Tau Island of American Samoa . Initially, the inhabitants of the island used diesel generators for energy. Last year, Tesla installed solar panels and batteries on the island, completely renovating Tau’s energy infrastructure.

According to management, Tesla has provided the energy needs of the entire population of the island (about 600 people) and of all enterprises and organizations in this region. The panels and batteries for the island were supplied by both companies that worked separately, both Tesla and Solar City. The island has 5328 solar panels and about 60 capacious battery systems.


The island itself, although it belongs to the United States, but is located 6000 kilometers from the west coast of this country. It is clear that Samoa and the United States have no common energy infrastructure. Living on an island remote from civilization is not so easy - water and food, not to mention other things, have to be brought here by sea. Before installing solar panels, island residents considered normal and power outages that occurred regularly.
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Residents are entirely dependent on the ship, which supplies them with everything they need. And this ship could not come earlier in months. Accordingly, there were interruptions in the supply of fuel and vital things for the inhabitants of the island. As soon as the fuel came to an end, the inhabitants tried to use it only in the mornings and evenings. Water is pumped into the island system using all the same electricity that pumps work on.

Now, thanks to Tesla, the situation is changing. There is a reliable source of electrical energy and energy storage system. Thanks to the tandem of the two companies, the inhabitants of the island now do not lack at least electricity.



The performance of this system is 1.4 MW. 60 Tesla batteries give 6 MWh of energy. All this was created pretty quickly. Exactly a year has passed from a specific idea to the full implementation of the project. Energy is supplied to the local hospital, school and college, plus a fire station and a police officer, not to mention the island’s businesses and local residents.

There is another interesting point - the inhabitants of the island pay for the energy. And the cost of "diesel energy" was higher than the cost of "green energy". So the island has a chance to save money, which can be invested in the development of local infrastructure. “It's always sunny here, the use of solar energy allows me to sleep peacefully, because I know that I can serve my customers without any problems,” says one of the local business representatives who own the fish store.



The project was funded by several organizations, including Samoan authorities and a number of US government organizations.

According to local residents, they are glad that now they don’t have to burn diesel fuel for energy. This will allow the islands to remain one of the cleanest places in the world. The inhabitants of the island are also happy because they will stop releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Of course, for the island these are minor figures, but here it’s a matter of principle. “This project is part of the story. It allows you to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Living on the island, you are the first to face the consequences of global warming. Coastal erosion and other noticeable changes are part of life here. This is a serious problem, and this project is a good example, which, perhaps, will be adopted by others, ”said one resident.

Combine both companies Ilon Mask suggested back in June of this year. And a number of experts expressed their approval, arguing that there is an economic sense in the merger. This is despite the fact that Tesla is profitable only this year, and SolarCity receives only $ 1 of revenue for every $ 5 of costs, that is, the company is deeply unprofitable.



SolarCity was founded in 2006 by the brothers Peter and Lyndon Riva, who implemented the idea of ​​Ilona Mask as their cousin. He also became the head of the company, giving it a start. For the past 10 years, SolarCity has been the leader in solar panel installation in California. In the US, this company ranks second.

The main idea realized by the company is leasing of solar panels to homeowners. Moreover, the monthly leasing payment is less than the electricity bill from utility companies. SolarCity's capitalization before the merger with Tesla was about $ 2 billion.