Tesla Tackles Global Warming

Robert Hunziker

Somebody’s gotta do it!

Meanwhile, America’s Congress ignores one of the biggest problems of all time, global warming/climate change. America’s entrepreneurs know better. They’re not waiting for Congress to fiddle whilst the planet burns.

American ingenuity, in the hands of Tesla Motors Inc., is taking on global warming head on. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is risking a fortune to make a fortune with renewable energy. And, yes, he’s in it for profits, not as a benefactor to “Greenies,” but who really cares if he sets in motion an unstoppable nationwide renewable revolution.

In that regard, America is about to witness one of the greatest economic revolutions of all time as renewable energy creates jobs galore, high-paying jobs, and America’s infrastructure gets a well deserved scrubbing, out with fossil fuels, in with solar and wind.

After all, somebody has to fill in for Congress’s shortsightedness, as several prominent members of that august (cough) body don’t even believe in anthropogenic global warming, denigrating human-caused climate change at every photo-op. But, then again, what do they really, truly believe in? Where’s the nation’s “vision” when it’s so desperately needed, rather than obstruction?

But the situation with Congress is even worse than their outright obstructionism. While Tesla works to create a clean energy country, several members of Congress are scheming behind the scenes to knock down the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which will be “the first-ever national limits on global warming pollution from power plants,” according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. What’s wrong with this picture? A lot! Really, really a lot!

Nationwide Renewable Energy Announcement Coming, April 30th

Shouldn’t Congress be making announcements like this?

Elon Musk recently informed Wall Street to prepare for a major announcement come April 30th when Tesla will announce a home battery system and a “very large” utility-scale battery for 24/7 solar power. Of utmost interest, Tesla will explain the advantages of the new battery solutions as well as the reasons why past battery solutions were not compelling.

A system of 24/7 solar energy, including auxiliary battery-power, is America’s energy dream come true in response to critics who astutely point out that solar doesn’t work so well when the sun sets.

Tesla’s innovation not only revolutionizes energy worldwide, it impacts foreign policy throughout the Middle East, breaking the U.S./Saudi juggernaut, which arguably keeps the region in constant conflict. After all, Saudi Arabia may go broke.

Not only that, America’s Congress should be shamed, embarrassed, humiliated as they’ve been sitting on comparable technology used by the International Space Station for years.

Anyway, the Tesla story only gets better. Here’s what Tesla Chief Technology Officer, J B Straubel said last month at the Vail Global Energy Forum: “Eventually you’re going to have a 100% battery electric vehicle fleet, working in tandem with an almost 100% renewable electric utility grid full of solar and wind” (Bloomberg News).

Significantly, Tesla’s charge into renewables for home and biz is not a pipedream. It’s happening right now in real time.

24/7 Solar Battery Systems

“Tesla has been able to install more than 100 projects, really without anyone noticing,”
Andrea James, analyst with Dougherty & Co. (Bloomberg News, April 22, 2015).

Tesla has already installed its batteries in 300 California solar-powered homes.

Wal-Mart has already installed Tesla batteries in eleven California stores with solar power.

According to Wine Business Monthly, Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, California is in partnership with Tesla for battery storage and vehicle charging stations.

Cargill plans to use a one-megawatt system with Tesla batteries for clean energy at its Fresno, California plant.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District in Southern California is planning on use of Tesla batteries for their solar installations. According to Janet Dixon, director of facilities at Temecula, “We spend roughly $3 million a year on electricity, and most of that is lighting and air conditioning. We are going solar to reduce our overall costs and the battery storage should help us manage our peak demand.”

At the end of the day, one can only wonder whether Elon Musk’s face belongs on Mt Rushmore right next to Abraham Lincoln who saved the country from itself by winning the battle against ignorance, intolerance, and small-mindedness. Although not a public servant like Lincoln, Musk is fighting the same battle today on behalf of the entire country.

Musk’s technological genius is a potent dynamic, offsetting all-powerful political forces that deprive the country of a nationwide renewable energy plan… clean energy!

All of which goes to underscore the shamelessness of dirty politics and dirty fossil fuels, which go hand-in-hand.