This is the year to invest in solar. Putting money into a Tesla Solar Roof or panels with Powerwalls is a smart choice.

For a long time, most of us assumed we should reliably purchase energy from a local utility. The era of expecting a local entity to offer a never-ending supply of affordable energy has come to an end.  Today people can generate their own energy.

The decision to go solar may be more affordable than we once thought

Vi To, father of two and homeowner in Dallas, shares with us why he bought Tesla solar panels and powerwall, “Texas had a scary Snowmageddon last winter where we lost power for one day and neighbors and friends lost it for ten days in freezing temperatures.  I started to seriously look for solutions/backup power options.” 

Vi likes to crunch numbers, and he shares that he spent about $50k on his Tesla Solar Panels and Powerwalls.  After a 13k federal tax credit, he financed through Tesla for 10 years, so he pays $270 monthly to Tesla instead of paying $300 monthly to the utility company.  “My system pays for itself in 5-7 years and then its free power thereafter,” he adds that he “also saves $200 a month by driving a Model Y.”

Would You Sell Energy to Your Local Grid?

Tesla has invited Solar and Powerwall owners like Vi to join in a demonstration to show that a fleet of powerwalls can be a source to power the Texas public utility grid.  In this way, people who are part of the Tesla fleet may one day sell power to ERCOT.  

“Powerwalls like yours can be a powerful tool to accelerate the grid’s transition to sustainable energy. 
Opt-in to our technical demonstration to help Tesla and ERCOT prove that a fleet of Powerwalls can provide the same services as conventional power plants with distributed clean energy.  
This is a valuable step toward Powerwalls’ paid participation in ERCOT markets.”  -Tesla

Increasingly people like Vi are proving they can generate their own energy.  They are showing that solar is more reliable than their local utility. Their word of mouth is just one indicator of the strength of solar power. Supporting the wider electricity grid will soon be another indicator.  In short, solar and powerwalls work together to perform the important job of bringing energy to all people.  The more that people invest in solar, the safer everyone will be from events that are beyond our control. 

But above all, I say that we are transitioning into a world where many people will be helped by the intelligent system that Tesla is pioneering.

One day, it will seem ridiculous that people ever relied so heavily on utility companies for energy. 

 “I think the beauty of the product is that you can’t tell it’s solar, most people come by, they have no idea.” - Tesla Solar Roof Owner

Credit TTVZ NewsChannel 21 – Bend Roofing Co. first in C.O. to install Tesla Solar Roof [10/4/21]

In writing this blog post, I kept thinking about the amazing work that Elon Musk is doing to help Ukraine. Tesla and SpaceX employees not only facilitated bringing Starlink to Ukraine, but they also scrapped together parts last-minute from Tesla Giga Berlin to create a system for humanitarian purposes. Through a system linking solar panels to Tesla Powerwalls, they showed how to power up Starlink satellite receivers. This is another reason why I am willing to invest in Tesla Solar. It is a creative system designed to help ultimately help humanity.  

Thanks for reading my blog post. I look forward to creating interesting takes on Tesla to share with YOU most Saturdays! Find out more about Tesla Solar here.

Article header photo Tesla Solar Panels, Powerwalls courtesy Tesla

Gail Alfar, Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. March 12, 2022