Tesla eyes an expansion into storm-ravaged islands of the Caribbean – and it could become a key player in shaping grids of the future.
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Car and energy company Tesla, striving for a world in which renewables play a more prominent role in production and storage, is eyeing an expansion into storm-ravaged islands of the Caribbean — and it could become a key player in shaping grids of the future .
The historic destruction wrought by hurricanes Irma and Maria on the U. S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this month downed once-operational and largely fossil fuel-powered grids, opening up the possibility for companies like Tesla to move in and establish a presence.
If utilities are restored with an eye toward the future, experts say, the islands might host new types of grids that could one day migrate to other parts of the world.
“I think entities like Tesla are going to be part of that story,” said Francis O’Sullivan, director of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT Energy Initiative. “They’re building a technology package that will be needed.”
Twelve days after the southern half of Hurricane Irma swept over St. John, the smallest of three main U. S. Virgin Islands, a desperate survivor of the Category 5 storm used debris from a nearby home to spell out « Send Tesla, » according to an aerial photocaptured by international news agency Reuters.
Social media postings noted that Tesla did send at least one representative to the island and began « signing up » survivors for solar services. Due to the island’s compromised communications infrastructure, however, residents could not be contacted to gather additional details. Tesla would not officially confirm the reports.
But industry analysts and Tesla insiders say the Elon Musk-led company that builds electric cars and includes energy products in its portfolio is interested in the U. S. territory and possibly other storm-damaged islands in the Caribbean as a way to expand its influence.
For Tesla, these aren’t uncharted waters — the company has already built solar energy production and storage « Powerpacks » in American Samoa and Hawaii. The futuristic centers include solar panels and enclosed batteries that reduce demand on traditional diesel-fueled grids that are common on islands. In the case of Hawaii’s Kaua’i Island, for example, the system is expected to reduce fossil fuel demands up to 50% by 2019, alleviating the need for transporting and burning diesel.
But larger, more industrial approaches aren’t the only things Tesla can offer. It’s directly targeting consumers with products such as the « Powerwall » and solar roof tiles that look and act like typical roofing, but can charge a Tesla-built battery connected to the home. The batteries can increase a home’s reliance on renewables, feed power back into the grid and operate as backups in the event of an outage.
Creating these « microgrids » that can be more independent and electrifying homes through solar power have advantages in the event of a natural disaster, according to O’Sullivan, including increased « elasticity » that could keep some portions electrified even in the event of a widespread grid failure.
“In places like the U. S. Virgin Islands, it makes a whole lot of sense right now,” he said. “They should look to integrate today’s newer technologies and not simply rebuild the old system we had.”
He also noted that locations such as Kaua’i and the Virgin Islands are small enough that breakout companies like Tesla can get their minds around them. A benefit of their efforts, of course, is putting that technology on display not only for future consumers to see, but regulators, too.
Mark Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a New York City-based think tank, said the establishment of renewable systems are initially more expensive partially due to the requirement of high-capacity batteries to provide power at night, but hybridizing them with more traditional technologies could be ideal.
« It’s not a crazy solution, » Mills said, noting that sunny islands are logical destinations for solar solutions such as Tesla’s Powerwall and Powerpack. « In situations like this, it’s entirely possible in many communities, especially hybridized. »
Mills, however, cautioned that while the systems can be more flexible, that doesn’t make them impervious — solar panels can still be destroyed, eliminating a key power source for home-based or centralized batteries.
Musk’s endeavors undeniably gravitate toward high-barrier-of-entry, entrenched markets: SpaceX in the rocketry business and Tesla taking on auto manufacturers and the energy market, to name a few.
Even those vehicle offerings could play a role during and after a natural disaster, according to James Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, Fla., who also said the islands face an opportunity to embrace new technologies.
« Solar is the right thing, » he said. « Energy storage isn’t there yet, but it will be there and I think it’s a combination of including transportation. And you can design your islands to do that if you get your vehicles to use electricity. »
The developments spearheaded on these islands are demonstrations of renewable capabilities that could one day spread to other parts of the globe ranging from well-developed markets to ones with non-existent infrastructure, such as portions of Africa and India.
It helps that Tesla offers a full, polished package: the solar panels needed to supply energy, the batteries produced at its massive Nevada Gigafactory (one of several planned), and additional hardware needed to integrate its products into grids and homes. The expertise and know-how to work and troubleshoot these systems is available, too.
But the company’s efforts in energy, while impactful, likely won’t be as lucrative as they may seem. The industry operates on tight margins and uses expensive, research-heavy technologies, but renewables help round the sharp corners on the vision of a post-carbon world.
