In the first two quarters of 2018 Tesla deployed 40% more energy storage than all of 2017, with 300-400% growth expected for 2019. Solar power deployments grew 11% to 84 MW over a low Q1 value.
Tesla has released its Q2 2018 Financial Results (PDF), which showed a company that is doing much more than just making EVs.
Tesla Showroom: PowerWall behind a Model S (Image: T. Larkum)
During the call Elon Musk said that in the long term he expects the company’s energy business to catch up with its auto business in size, with Chief Technology Officer and co-Founder Jamie Straubel noting that the company expects 300-400% of “mad growth” (Musk’s description of it) in energy storage in 2019. The huge PG&E project was stated as being 1 GWh, confirming Electrek’s Fred Lambert, meaning that this is a 6-hour duration battery (the first big utility 6-hour battery?).
And as we all expected due to the fact that this energy storage and solar power company also sells electric cars, the Model 3 ramp up to 5,000 units took away from energy storage resources.
As buyers very well know, Tesla energy products are currently in greater demand than Tesla can supply. Energy storage is showing an aggressive upwards curve – but it’s sold out, and while solar power might have hit his bottom – around 80 MW the last three quarters – Tesla is predicting a climb in mid-2019 and later. Though there is light, as Musk noted that ‘several hundred’ Solar Roofs have been deployed, are being installed or scheduled for install, and international expansion was underway.
Read more: PV Magazine USA