Tesla is continuing to revolutionize clean energy with a new project: building the largest rooftop solar installation in the world.
The electric automaker's Giga Texas factory, the company's global headquarters and production center for Model Ys, will soon be home to a 30-megawatt solar installation that will help power the plant, according to Power Engineering International. The project will entail 70,000 panels on the factory, which spans 10 million square feet.
30 megawatts is a considerable amount of power — enough to smelt over two tons of aluminum or provide 36 months of electricity for an average American home, according to FreeingEnergy.com. It could also power over 100,000 miles of travel in an electric car or toast 2.67 million slices of bread.
The first phase of construction has already been finished, so the factory is able to use 10 megawatts of solar power for production, officials from the company told the Travis County Commissioners Court in a presentation reported on by iPower Engineering International.
"When it's all said and done, it will be 30 megawatts, which will be the largest rooftop solar, I think, in the world," said Logan Grant, the senior manager of factory engineering, during a presentation on the project.
"The first American battery manufacturing at scale is happening here, and the first American cathode manufacturing — which is the most expensive part of the battery — is happening at Giga Texas," said Rohan Patel, senior global director of business development and public policy.
The solar move is the latest in a series of projects wherein Tesla will help the planet move to cleaner energy sources beyond its passenger vehicle sales. The company has also developed electric Semis that will soon haul materials for its manufacturing, a lithium lab for battery production, and is even trying to restructure Australia's power grid.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Cool Picks
