Latest news with #Powerwall
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tesla's energy storage business gets sucked into the company's downward spiral
Even Tesla's energy storage business, which has been a small, yet notable bright spot, can't escape the cloud that's hanging over the company. For the second consecutive quarter, deployments of its Powerwall and Megapack stationary storage products have declined, according to stats released by Tesla. In the second quarter of this year, the company installed 9.6 gigawatt-hours of storage, down 0.8 gigawatt-hours from the first quarter. Tesla's energy storage division peaked in the fourth quarter of 2024, a three-month period that saw 11 gigawatt-hours deployed. In all, Tesla deployed 31.4 GWh of energy storage products in 2024. Until this year, the sector has been a bright spot for Tesla, posting consistent year-over-year growth. Revenue from energy storage and solar installations grew from $2 billion in 2020 to $10.1 billion last year. Tesla's poor start to the year suggests that streak is about to come to an end. By contrast, the broader market for energy storage has been growing recently. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie said new installations hit a record high in Q1, the most recent period for which data is available, growing by 57% year-over-year. Such growth is unlikely to continue, though, as tariffs on Chinese-made goods coincide with the ill-effects of a Trump-backed reconciliation bill currently being hashed out in Congress. There, Republicans have been working to eliminate key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act. While battery storage installations might continue to receive tax credits under the bill, new restrictions over parts or materials sourced from foreign entities of concern (FEOC) could make any remaining tax credits nearly impossible to claim. The vast majority of minerals used in batteries are refined or processed in China.
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Tesla's energy storage business gets sucked into the company's downward spiral
Even Tesla's energy storage business, which has been a small, yet notable bright spot, can't escape the cloud that's hanging over the company. For the second consecutive quarter, deployments of its Powerwall and Megapack stationary storage products have declined, according to stats released by Tesla. In the second quarter of this year, the company installed 9.6 gigawatt-hours of storage, down 0.8 gigawatt-hours from the first quarter. Tesla's energy storage division peaked in the fourth quarter of 2024, a three-month period that saw 11 gigawatt-hours deployed. In all, Tesla we deployed 31.4 GWh of energy storage products in 2024. Until this year, the sector has been a bright spot for Tesla, posting consistent year-over-year growth. Revenue from energy storage and solar installations grew from $2 billion in 2020 to $10.1 billion last year. Tesla's poor start to the year suggests that streak is about to come to an end. By contrast, the broader market for energy storage has been growing recently. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie said new installations hit a record high in Q1, the most recent period for which data is available, growing by 57% year-over-year. Such growth is unlikely to continue, though, as tariffs on Chinese-made goods coincide with the ill-effects of a Trump-backed reconciliation bill currently being hashed out in Congress. There, Republicans have been working to eliminate key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act. While battery storage installations might continue to receive tax credits under the bill, new restrictions over parts or materials sourced from foreign entities of concern (FEOC) could make any remaining tax credits nearly impossible to claim. The vast majority of minerals used in batteries are refined or processed in China.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Australia launches A$2.3 billion plan to boost home batteries
[SYDNEY] Australia started a A$2.3 billion (S$1.9 billion) programme to encourage households to buy batteries in an effort to absorb excess renewable energy and curb price swings in one of the world's most volatile power markets. The programme cuts the upfront cost of installing a household battery by about 30 per cent, provided that the system is connected to solar panels. The discount rate will be reviewed at least annually and gradually decrease until 2030. The government hopes that offsetting some of the relatively high upfront cost of batteries will allow it to tap a world-leading uptake of solar by its citizens – about a third of households had panels in 2024, but only one in 40 of those had storage. It would also help alleviate dramatic price swings that make Australia's electricity market one of the most volatile, with wholesale power rates regularly dropping below zero when solar generation peaks around noon, before spiking after sunset. 'Growth in battery adoption will help Australia smooth its increasingly volatile power market, and allow greater integration of renewables,' said Leonard Quong, head of Australian research at BloombergNEF. 'Small-scale battery deployments have failed to keep pace with rooftop solar installations, weighed down by stubbornly high up-front costs and a lack of policy support.' The incentives are likely to drive a boom in sales in the near-term by customers wanting to take full advantage before the incentives wind down, according to Quong. That will be welcome news for producers such as Tesla, whose local head last month said that Australia was the first, and so far only, country with more Powerwall household batteries than Tesla electric vehicles. It could well be profitable for households, which in a worst-case scenario are forced to curtail solar output, with several electricity retailers offering customers free power around noon, or even paying them to use it. Wholesale prices were negative 20 per cent of the time across the National Electricity Market, which covers about four-fifths of Australia's power use, in the second half of 2024, according to BloombergNEF. While the incentive will accelerate battery ownership among households, it won't help increase the resilience of energy-intensive industries trying to manage the risks of the renewable transition, said Anita Stadler, head of Renewable Energy Investments at consultant ERM Energetics. Some of those risks include increasing breakdowns linked to an ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants that still supply most of Australia's power. To help meet some of the shortfall, the government has set an ambitious target for 82 per cent of power generation to come from renewables by 2030, from about 40 per cent last year. 'We already generate an excess of clean, reliable, renewable energy from Australia's abundant sun and wind,' Greg Bourne, an energy expert at the Climate Council, said in a June report that showed the price of batteries has declined 86 per cent since 2013. 'Batteries will help soak it all up and put it to good use during periods of high demand.' BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bunnings quietly rolls out 'brilliant' new store feature for EV drivers
As more and more electric cars appear on Australia's roads, drivers will have another, and very familiar, place to recharge their battery-powered vehicles. Retail giant Bunnings Warehouse is rolling out a range of EV chargers in the carparks of selected stores, meaning EV owners can charge up while they shop. Yahoo understands that Bunnings has so far installed chargers at 14 of its store locations in NSW, Victoria and WA, as well as New Zealand. The company currently has two more stores to be equipped with chargers in the coming weeks. Given the retailer has more than 500 stores across Australia and New Zealand, the rollout is currently being hyper targeted to where the retailer believes demand is strongest. Sydney woman Sarah Aubrey who runs a social media business dedicated to developments in electric vehicles, battery technology and electric home appliances described the chargers as "brilliant" after happening upon a 120kW installment at the retail giant's Alexandria store in the city's inner west this week. "You're at Bunnings, you're spending some time here lollygagging, 120 kilowatts, that is very fast," she said in a video sharing the find with her followers. "So you'll be good to go. I am so stoked about that, that is awesome." Bunnings Director of Stores Rod Caust told Yahoo News Australia the early rollout was about "meeting the changing needs" of customers. "As electric vehicles become more common in Australia and New Zealand, we're installing EV charging stations in some of our store car parks so our customers with EVs can charge up while they shop," he said. The Bunnings chargers include a mix of 22kW, 50kW and the super fast 120kW chargers seen in the Alexandria store. Customers will be able to use their chosen EV charging station app to see if their local store has chargers installed with signage and instructions in relevant carparks to help customers. Late last year the mega hardware store began stocking a range of new EV-related products, including Tesla's Powerwall home batteries as the EV trend gained more and more momentum. "We're launching a range of electric vehicle chargers and accessories across selected stores to make it easier for our customers to own and maintain EVs," Bunnings director of merchandise Cam Rist told Yahoo News in November. "The range, which includes wall-mounted EV chargers that can be installed in customers' homes, is currently being rolled out to 40 pilot stores across Australia in a phased approach. We know the EV market is growing rapidly in Australia and we're pleased to be making these products more accessible to customers at an affordable price, which have been traditionally hard to find in retail stores." More than a third of Australians believe misinformation about electric vehicles, while almost half accept the myth battery-powered cars are more likely to catch fire, a study shows. Researchers from the University of Queensland and three German institutions released the findings late on Monday, following surveys of more than 6,300 people in Australia, the United States, Germany and Austria. Their results mirrored concerns in a recent NRMA study, which found misinformation about battery safety was preventing motorists from investing in low-emission cars. The UQ peer-reviewed research, published in the Springer Nature Energy journal, included the results of four surveys, the first of which asked non-electric vehicles drivers for their opinions about false information about the cars. Despite the untruthful claims, more than one in three Australians on average went along with the assertions (35 per cent) - slightly lower than the average across all four nations (36 per cent). Related: Astounding EV detail in Chinese city that's on 'another level' Incorrect statements that EVs were more likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars gained the highest acceptance from Australians surveyed (47 per cent), while 44 per cent also believed EV batteries were deliberately non-upgradeable. Other claims about manufacturing outweighing the lower emissions of electric cars (35 per cent) and EV accidents being under-reported (26 per cent) were also concerning, University of Queensland environmental psychologist and co-author Chris Bretter said. "We know this sort of false information is out there and circulating but the scale of acceptance is concerning and poses a significant challenge to the global transition to more sustainable transport," he added. The findings come days after NRMA released a report, prepared by Ipsos, that found two in three Australians remained concerned about electric vehicle battery fires and safety despite low incident reports. Eight electric vehicle fires have been reported in Australia to November 2024, according to EV Firesafe, including one with an unknown cause. with AAP Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
The Verge
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Verge
since Elon Musk extended his
1 million Powerwalls. While sales of Tesla cars have suffered greatly arm and wallet to politics globally, his Starlink and Tesla Energy products have continued to do well. There's lots of EV competition, but zero alternatives for cheap and fast consumer internet that can be quickly deployed in data dead zones, or whole home battery backup systems with a proven track record and terrific user experience. Although the competitors are quickly gearing up to address the latter.
