Elon Musk: Tesla Could Rebuild Puerto Rico’s Power Grid with Batteries and Solar

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Megalith

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After Puerto Rico was hit by two hurricanes that destroyed their power grid, Tesla quickly started shipping Powerwalls there to try to get power back to some houses with solar arrays. Now, Elon Musk says that Tesla could rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid with batteries and solar on a bigger scale: “The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too.”

The thing is, those systems are reliant on power lines for larger communities and devices, like solar panels and wind turbines, which are still subject to problems with natural disasters. For example, some of Puerto Rico’s solar and wind farms were badly damaged by the recent hurricanes, which contribute to their current power outages. he advantage of Tesla’s solution is that it has the potential to be distributed, which increases the odds of at least some systems staying online or bringing some back online quicker.
 
This is almost a perfect test case. The existing grid, in poor shape before the storms, is largely gone. Rather then reconstructing the old grid based on one or two central power plants, the entire grid could be built new and designed for many small distributed power sources. Hopefully the Federal government will give a quick OK. PR could become a test lab for a modern distributed grid with power coming from a number of sources. Lessons learned could be used for modernizing the US mainland grid.
 
Well, we're one price war away from a massive explosion in electric car popularity.

Because of that and phones, battery tech is improving at a dizzying pace. Why not start to push the tech?

Musk is nothing if not incredibly forward thinking.
 
When are people going to acknowledge that Musk's primary talent is in creating hype? Oh sure he can rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid... Kind of like he's going to be building 500,000 model 3s per year by 2018. Given the fact that Tesla has managed to produce 260 total despite his claims of "over 1500" in the month of Sept. alone, I find it extremely hard to believe that he's capable of completing a project of this scale on time or on budget.
 
Kdawg said:
and then the next big hurricane will blow all the solar panels into the ocean.
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I was thinking that if they made the panels detachable, then they could "harvest" them before the hurricane hit and run the entire island off Powerwall batteries. Then when the hurricane's danger had passed, they could reinstall them and have power again.
 
Kdawg said:
and then the next big hurricane will blow all the solar panels into the ocean.
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I agree

cageymaru said:
I was thinking that if they made the panels detachable, then they could "harvest" them before the hurricane hit and run the entire island off powerwall batteries. Then when the hurricane's danger had passed, they could reinstall them and have power again.
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I think more in the line of making the base retractable, bringing the panels flat to the ground. Less chance of being ripped up and something impacting them at speed. At that point you're only worry is things landing on them large enough to damage the outer casing which should be resilient and replaceable.
 
He could also put a colony on the moon or mars for that matter but it still costs MONEY. Puerto Rico is essentially bankrupt, having failed to pay like a 50 million dollar bond payment in 2015, and incapable of currently rebounding without substantial aid. On top of the financial disaster that is their corrupt political landscape, their island just got destroyed by the strongest hurricane its seen on record. For Elon Musk to wax poetic about how he could just ride in on a radiant white stallion and deliver power on demand with no hitches, is pretty much a slap in the face. If they had funds (and if those funds weren't being imbezzelled) they would have invested more into upkeep on their power grid long ago. Unfortunately due to the corruption and mismanagement, these types of options are nonexistent. He might as well tell them he can build a hyperloop undersea from San Juan to Miama.
 
oldmanbal said:
He could also put a colony on the moon or mars for that matter but it still costs MONEY. Puerto Rico is essentially bankrupt, having failed to pay like a 50 million dollar bond payment in 2015, and incapable of currently rebounding without substantial aid. On top of the financial disaster that is their corrupt political landscape, their island just got destroyed by the strongest hurricane its seen on record. For Elon Musk to wax poetic about how he could just ride in on a radiant white stallion and deliver power on demand with no hitches, is pretty much a slap in the face. If they had funds (and if those funds weren't being imbezzelled) they would have invested more into upkeep on their power grid long ago. Unfortunately due to the corruption and mismanagement, these types of options are nonexistent. He might as well tell them he can build a hyperloop undersea from San Juan to Miama.
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If Elon Musk can successfully power the island of Puerto Rico with solar and the Powerwall batteries, imagine the contracts his companies would reap from doing so? Rural India has many communities struggling without electricity. This could be the greatest test bed for a solar powered revolution. He knows this and he has the stock price and investors to foot the bill. Also I bet the US government will give him tax breaks for a decade or more just for "donating" to help Americans in Puerto Rico.

I don't foresee Elon Musk having an issue fixing their power grid issues as the US government will contract someone to do so regardless. It is just a matter of if he can win the contract to do so.
 
The problem is, no matter what power solution is implemented, if it's maintained by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) it will be a complete pile of garbage in record time. Incomparable and unimaginable levels of incompetence and corruption running that island as compared to the mainland.
 
capt_cope said:
When are people going to acknowledge that Musk's primary talent is in creating hype? Oh sure he can rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid... Kind of like he's going to be building 500,000 model 3s per year by 2018. Given the fact that Tesla has managed to produce 260 total despite his claims of "over 1500" in the month of Sept. alone, I find it extremely hard to believe that he's capable of completing a project of this scale on time or on budget.
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Seems they're on schedule to meet the deadline in Australia, so maybe a bit more than just hype.
 
Why not let him set goals just out of reach/reality, because if he makes it, great, if he misses, think of the strides that get made along the way. I recall a general sentiment about going to the Moon after Russia made orbit, and how impossible it was going to be to accomplish. Even had we failed, just the tech that poured out of the attempt would have been worth it. I just wonder why it bothers people when others set their goals so high?
 
From the photo it looks like they want to deforest the island and put solars everywhere.
 
cageymaru said:
If Elon Musk can successfully power the island of Puerto Rico with solar and the Powerwall batteries, imagine the contracts his companies would reap from doing so? Rural India has many communities struggling without electricity. This could be the greatest test bed for a solar powered revolution. He knows this and he has the stock price and investors to foot the bill. Also I bet the US government will give him tax breaks for a decade or more just for "donating" to help Americans in Puerto Rico.

I don't foresee Elon Musk having an issue fixing their power grid issues as the US government will contract someone to do so regardless. It is just a matter of if he can win the contract to do so.
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There won't be enough money for Puerto Rico to get a custom designed Solar Island. This isn't the Obama Green Era. We are in Trump's Coal and Oil of the USA. The level of corruption in Puerto Rico further undermines any potential of it being the 'solar powered revolution testbed'. I had a large business contract in Puerto Rico for about 5 years and was constantly reminded by all participants of the crooked police, politicians, and policy makers on the Island. There's a reason that this Island paradise ran itself into the ground, including why we wouldn't even consider adding them as a state.

I don't argue that the potential for Solar power is significant, and with newer battery technology that is available today, the storage capacity for satellite solar arrays will empower cutoff regions from otherwise inconsistent power delivery. The underlying issue is still Money. Unless Musk has determined a way to make more money in a short amount of time from the electricity produced by Solar power, and storage batteries, than the cost of massive construction, engineering, design, and hardware costs, this is and will continue to be a moot point. His solution while being a possible scenario, is neither likely or realistic. It wasn't long ago that certain nuclear proponents were claiming to be the savior of humanity as well.
 
Hmm, is Musk's primary motivation here to help the people of Puerto Rico, or to help his own company? Hmm.
 
Bawjaws said:
Hmm, is Musk's primary motivation here to help the people of Puerto Rico, or to help his own company? Hmm.
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Potato Rico couldn't properly service or maintain their grid, so I fear Musk's project won't last a year. I live in a tiny island and there were millions of dollars in grants from dozens of countries to put solar systems in schools, government buildings, roadways, all of them collapsed in 6 months because of zero maintenance and the extremely challenging environment, except for two government buildings due to budget set for contract maintenance. Things you'd expect to last for years would crumble in this salty hot humid UV place.
 
Elon could install the whole thing at his own expense, if it works as promised he would make the money back quick from all the future sales. Just like selling milk at a loss to get customer into the store.
 
oldmanbal said:
He could also put a colony on the moon or mars for that matter but it still costs MONEY. Puerto Rico is essentially bankrupt, having failed to pay like a 50 million dollar bond payment in 2015, and incapable of currently rebounding without substantial aid. On top of the financial disaster that is their corrupt political landscape, their island just got destroyed by the strongest hurricane its seen on record. For Elon Musk to wax poetic about how he could just ride in on a radiant white stallion and deliver power on demand with no hitches, is pretty much a slap in the face. If they had funds (and if those funds weren't being imbezzelled) they would have invested more into upkeep on their power grid long ago. Unfortunately due to the corruption and mismanagement, these types of options are nonexistent. He might as well tell them he can build a hyperloop undersea from San Juan to Miama.
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Your comment seems to be at odds with itself. Are they corrupt or would they invest in their grid if they had the funds?

Which state has invested in their grid?
 
0neTwo said:
Stupid Elon Musk trying to help and move the world forward. And this dork has the nerve to want to benefit his own company(s) while doing it. I can't believe the nerve of some people.
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Yeah, we should stop him suckling at the public teat just to build wildly economical space rockets, amazing futuristic cars, and creating thousands of American jobs! Any true American wouldn't rest until this charlatan is shut down, and Chinese companies step up to fill the void!
 
Twisted Kidney said:
Well, we're one price war away from a massive explosion in electric car popularity.

Because of that and phones, battery tech is improving at a dizzying pace. Why not start to push the tech?

Musk is nothing if not incredibly forward thinking.
Click to expand...
Actually, I don't think battery tech is improving much but rather a lot more batteries are being used. Battery tech and charge capacity per weight/size hasn't improved much over the recent years. There are better cells but they use expensive materials like silver and therefore don't get widespread use as manufacturers race to cut production costs to keep getting better and better margins.
 
The Lamb said:
Yeah, we should stop him suckling at the public teat just to build wildly economical space rockets, amazing futuristic cars, and creating thousands of American jobs! Any true American wouldn't rest until this charlatan is shut down, and Chinese companies step up to fill the void!
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7 billion dollars to create a few thousand jobs????


This is economically sustainable.
 
Yes, lets rebuild with the most expensive power options for a location that had been ignoring it's power grid for decades and is in massive debt.
 
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Viable, since the entirety of Puerto Rico has a human population of only 3.7M people...to get it done will be expensive (both initial construction and long-term sustainment), time consuming, and it'll suck up a lot of real estate to meet the energy demand, but viable.
Nah, fuck that...go with a couple/few way more long-term-cost-effective failsafe smaller capacity nuke plants and call them in a about a century when it's time to refurbish or replace them.
 
0neTwo said:
Stupid Elon Musk trying to help and move the world forward. And this dork has the nerve to want to benefit his own company(s) while doing it. I can't believe the nerve of some people.
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The Lamb said:
Yeah, we should stop him suckling at the public teat just to build wildly economical space rockets, amazing futuristic cars, and creating thousands of American jobs! Any true American wouldn't rest until this charlatan is shut down, and Chinese companies step up to fill the void!
Click to expand...
I'll never understand the love for corporation's dick sucking that many Americans love to do. Paint a pretty picture and wrap it in good marketing and people will eat any BS you serve them and praise you for being brave, futuristic and have an unmeasureable love for humanity.

But we are just old fartsTM that just don't get itTM because he is the second coming of Jesus and his ideas are divine and altruistic.
 
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