The financial case for when to put up panels is really dependent on how good a deal you're getting from the grid for buying all-renewable energy. I didn't put up panels yet when I calculated I would be getting an Internal Rate of Return from the change under 4%, which is not impressive compared to investing in stocks. I guess Tesla calculated that the IRR was now better than other things they could use the capital funding for.
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Tesla Gigafactory
- Thread starter domenick
- Start date
I got around to listening to the earnings call last night. A couple of things regarding the Gigafactory jumped out at me. I think it was JB who said they had figured out how to make more cells in less space. This was in regard to the Shanghai GF, but probably applies to the Nevada GF too. They have probably slowed down expansion of the GF in Nevada because they found they can get by with the smaller building for now.
Someone asked if the Roadster or Semi were going to be made at the GF in Nevada. Elon made an uncomfortable laugh and said he couldn't comment on where future production might be because it could affect a lot of things, so he wasn't saying now where they would be built, but in his hesitation I almost thought he was going to say they were considering it.
If they have figured out how to make all the cells they need to in a smaller footprint building, it would make sense to expand the building to its original planned capacity and do final assembly of some other vehicle in the unused space. Doing that with a low volume production vehicle like the Roadster would be a good experiment in making cars with Elon's dream of raw materials in one end and finished vehicles out the other. The Roadster could become their manufacturing experiment car with the GF1 as their lab.
Someone asked if the Roadster or Semi were going to be made at the GF in Nevada. Elon made an uncomfortable laugh and said he couldn't comment on where future production might be because it could affect a lot of things, so he wasn't saying now where they would be built, but in his hesitation I almost thought he was going to say they were considering it.
If they have figured out how to make all the cells they need to in a smaller footprint building, it would make sense to expand the building to its original planned capacity and do final assembly of some other vehicle in the unused space. Doing that with a low volume production vehicle like the Roadster would be a good experiment in making cars with Elon's dream of raw materials in one end and finished vehicles out the other. The Roadster could become their manufacturing experiment car with the GF1 as their lab.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
For lower volume products such as the Roadster and initial Semi run a tent next to the GF would probably work well.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
Probably not a great idea for the long term with the winters in Nevada... but a good idea for low volume production in the expanded GF building
dc_h
Active Member
Those tent structures were used in Afghanistan and can hold up well to different weather.Probably not a great idea for the long term with the winters in Nevada... but a good idea for low volume production in the expanded GF building
I think the idea came to Tesla via SpaceX, which is using one in Los Angeles port and they got the idea(most likely) from NASA, which used it for the space shuttle. NASA is rather notorious for overkill, so it’s a pretty good endorsement for this being ok for Nevada.
We will see. They’ll need to make some announcement by the end of the year.
Probably not a great idea for the long term with the winters in Nevada... but a good idea for low volume production in the expanded GF building
Nevada winter? Wha lol?
Thomas Edison
Active Member
who knew. I think of Vegas, at the southern tip of Nevada, which never goes much below 40-5 at night.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
Sparks NV is on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of 4400 feet. So, cold and some snow in winter. "Nevada" is Spanish for "snowy" although the state name came from the mountain range, not the weather.
I didn't even consider the price of renewables in my calculation. In my case it was about reducing my costs versus shifting costs. I got a 10 year payback and an enhancement in the value of my home when I installed solar panels. I have a retirement portfolio of stocks that is managed for a reasonable rate of return with as little downside as possible.
The Great Basin is a series of N-S mountain ranges that covers an area from eastern California into Utah. It ends just north of Las Vegas. Las Vegas and much of Arizona and new Mexico sit on a huge plateau that was thrust up to some altitude. Phoenix is only around 1000 ft, but other areas get much higher. To the north, the ground was more fragile and fractured as it was thrust up created a rumpled carpet effect.
To the south, the winters are mild, but the mountains cause different weather which is colder in the winter, though summers are still hot. The capital of Nevada is not far from Reno (Carson City) because when Nevada was settled, Las Vegas was a wide spot in the road and not much there there because there was little water available. The Hoover dam on the Colorado River in the 30s changed that. Reno and Carson City are on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and near a large natural lake (Lake Tahoe) as well as not far from Pyramid Lake. It's the most livable part of Nevada. It also didn't hurt that the first big silver find in Nevada was near there too, but that's probably in part because it was the most settled part of the territory at the time.
The Great Basin entry on Wikipedia:
Great Basin - Wikipedia
Sparks is getting a bit out of the Sierra Nevada, but it's pretty close. I think Sparks is in the foothills of the next mountain range to the east. There are so many mountain ranges in the Great Basin it can be tough to tell when one ends and the next begins in some places.
Some sources place Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada, others say it's just outside it. Some sources also claim Lassen and Mt Shasta as part of the Sierra Nevada, but most say they are part of the Cascades (which makes more sense since the Sierras are a granite mountain range of solidified lava underground that was then thrust up above the surface and the Cascades are a chain of subduction volcanoes).
SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
I hear solar panel installation is visibly increasing. This makes me super interested to see if PowerPacks start to increase in Battery Park. That cleared area that looks like the renderings of TE megawatthour-scaled installations is right next to the roof area sporting new PV panels. Right where you'd figure.
"Battery Park" in early 2017:
"Battery Park" in early 2017:
tinm
2020 Model S LR+ Owner
Hard to see how the Gigafactory as depicted in its "final state" artist's rendition is going to actually reach that state in 2020. Is there a revised expansion/completion schedule?
Tesla has gone very quiet about the GigaFactory. In the last earnings call JB Straubel did say that they figured out how to make cells using less factory space, so they may be revising the final factory footprint.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I assume they will eventually build it out when they need it.
Merrill
Merrill
I installed solar 8 years ago and it was more expensive than today but sometimes it is not always about the money. I’m paying Pacific Graft and Extortion less and charge my Tesla’s from the sun.
Ulmo
Active Member
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