Solar Roof and Powerwall in Canada

[wayner]

It's more than labour, there is shipping cost for the 300lb PW2 and the gateway. Also lots of wiring. All told I paid about $16K for 1 PW2 installed. But part of this cost will support solar panels that will be installed in September.

Is that the all-in cost for having a PW2 installed over and above any costs for a solar system? That seems really high and doesn't make much sense unless you have no alternative, such as a remote location. For backup I would just prefer to install a NG generator which has a few advantages over a PW.

 

[Bitjockey]

Actually I was mistaken; I paid $14.5K plus HST for the PW2 and energy gateway to be installed, along with an external disconnect switch and a larger subpanel. The larger subpanel was needed to add solar, so technically if I didn't plan on solar, I wouldn't need to replace it.
My 6-7kW solar is slated for installation in September, and that was quoted at $21K + HST.

A generator wasn't an option for me, wife was (and is) dead set against it. My cottage location has no NG available so it would have to be an ugly propane tank. The prospect of using fossil fuel didn't appeal to me either.

Under a net metering plan, the entire system payback period was calculated at about 11 years.

 

[wayner]

Totally understandable at a cottage, although some folks put in propane for cooking. I have seen places where they bury the propane tank - more expensive but it hides tht tank.

 

[wayner]

It sounds like the solar roof is much going slower than anticipated. Here is an article from a few weeks ago. One concern that I would have is this quote:

It took two weeks and a dozen workers to install, compared to a day for most traditional panel systems.

Inside Tesla's troubled New York solar factory

 

[wayner]

Another story today, this time in Bloomberg Business week:

Did Elon Musk Forget about Buffalo?

 

[Buggle]

I have a solar roof on order, I was told that I could expect installation late 2019.

You're in CA tho, the first market to be served, so doesn't mean much imo.

 

[Lloyd]

You're in CA tho, the first market to be served, so doesn't mean much imo.

Actually it is for a home in Nevada.

What's Next?

When we are ready to begin installations in your area, a Solar Roof product specialist will reach out to you to answer any questions you may have and discuss the next steps for your project.

 

[Buggle]

Actually it is for a home in Nevada.

What's Next?

When we are ready to begin installations in your area, a Solar Roof product specialist will reach out to you to answer any questions you may have and discuss the next steps for your project.

tomato tomato lol...

 

[Snowstorm]

Is mpower reliable? I contacted Bluewater energy at Guelph and they say they get their powers from mpower who imports them. Mpower didn’t return my email and have no known phone numbers. They seems to have reviews on google equating them to scammers.

Tesla says they are not selling the power walls in Canada yet, and the sales rep doesn’t seem to know much about mpower.

 

[wayner]

Tesla exporting most of its solar cells instead of installing trademark ‘Solar Roofs’

The “great majority” of solar cells being produced at Tesla Inc’s factory in upstate New York are being sold overseas instead of being used in the company’s trademark “Solar Roof” as originally intended, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

The exporting underscores the depth of Tesla’s troubles in the U.S. solar business, which the electric car maker entered in 2016 with its controversial $2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity.

Tesla has only sporadically purchased solar cells produced by its partner in the factory, Panasonic Corp, according to a Buffalo solar factory employee speaking on condition of anonymity. The rest are going largely to foreign buyers, according to a Panasonic letter to U.S. Customs officials reviewed by Reuters.

 

[Vawlkus]

Yeah, they’re going to this little place called Puerto Rico...... -.-

 

[wayner]

No, they are being exported out of the US. I am pretty sure that sending something to Puerto Rico is not an export.

Panasonic’s letter to U.S. officials last October accompanied a request to produce the cells in a foreign trade zone within the Buffalo plant that would allow Panasonic to import certain parts tariff-free because the finished cells would be sold overseas, not domestically.


That request was granted in April.

The zones help companies avoid, delay or pay reduced tariffs on imported parts in cases where it helps U.S. manufacturers compete with overseas rivals.

“It is fully anticipated that the majority of the cells to be produced” in the FTZ “will be exported,” the company said in its application.

Panasonic’s Canal said foreign solar panel manufacturers want the Buffalo plant’s cells because solar panels assembled abroad with American-made cells can be shipped to the United States tariff-free, according to U.S. trade rules implemented last fall.

Panasonic’s Buffalo operation is one of few U.S.-based solar cell producers because it is traditionally far cheaper to make the components in other countries, putting it in a unique position to serve the foreign demand.

Canal would not disclose the company’s non-Tesla solar cell customers or say what percentage of its Buffalo cell output was being shipped outside the country, saying that information was “proprietary and competitive.”


A Panasonic source said much of the exported material was going to a large Asian buyer.

 

[Vawlkus]

No, they are being exported out of the US. I am pretty sure that sending something to Puerto Rico is not an export.

Depends on if you listen to Trump. -.-

 

[hingisfan]

Can pw be used for load shifting? Or did that idea die?

 

[Snowstorm]

Tesla exporting most of its solar cells instead of installing trademark ‘Solar Roofs’

Can pw be used for load shifting? Or did that idea die?

You mean time shifting? Yes, but I am not sure if that would be the best use for the battery. You save a few dollars each day by increasing cycles, but wear out the battery sooner and those batteries are expensive.

I think the main use would be for solar time shift where cost gap is larger since solar is “free”. And backup during outages.

 

[wayner]

The current peak rate is $0.134 and the off-peak is $0.065. You have at most 30 hours per week of peak rates (at least in the summer) at $0.07 so the most you could save each week is $2.10. That is about $100/year (less when you include holidays) so that is a mighty long payback period. You need the peak vs off-peak spread to increase but there is a theory that given the increase use of solar and the diminishing demand from manufacturing, that peaks may be smoothed. The large-scale adoption of night time charging of EVs would also work to smooth the peak.

 

[thesteve]

The current peak rate is $0.134 and the off-peak is $0.065. You have at most 30 hours per week of peak rates (at least in the summer) at $0.07 so the most you could save each week is $2.10. That is about $100/year (less when you include holidays) so that is a mighty long payback period.

The rate is per kWh isn’t it? That could mean multiples of savings. Each Powerwall is 13.4 kWh so technically you could save 13.4 kWh each peak period still probably works out to like $200/yr lol

 

[zwz002]

Europe and China timeline will be announced "soon", according to Elon. No love for Canada?
Elon Musk on Twitter

 

[MexiCanuck]

Europe and China timeline will be announced "soon", according to Elon. No love for Canada?
Elon Musk on Twitter

Population of China: 1.4 billion

Population of EU: 0.741 billion

Population of Canada: 0.037 billion

Hmm, what markets would you pursue?

 

[zwz002]

Population of China: 1.4 billion

Population of EU: 0.741 billion

Population of Canada: 0.037 billion

Hmm, what markets would you pursue?

Yea, I know... But Canada has been fairly fast to receive new Tesla products compared to China and EU.