Tesla’s Gigafactory began production in 2014 in order to meet the projected need for lithium-ion batteries after proposing a production rate of 500,000 electric cars per year. This operation began in Nevada after the company received a large tax break given the jobs this would bring to the state. They began production of these batteries this past summer and expect to produce 50-gigawatt hours of battery storage by the end of 2018.What I believe is most interesting about this gigafactory is how it has become a use case of the potential power of sustainable energy. In a popular documentary about climate change, Elon Musk gave a profound statement that if we were to establish 100 gigafactories similar to the one in Nevada, we would have enough power to transition the entire world to sustainable energy using these batteries. This is because the batteries he is attempting to develop will be able to store solar power and can be used without sunlight. Just to clarify this post is the compilation of two articles regarding the Gigafactory.
1. Do you think other companies should follow in Musk's path towards sustainable energy?
2. What is your biggest concern regarding the success of the Gigafactory?
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-100-tesla-gigafactories-could-power-entire-world/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a26978/teslas-gigafactory-is-starting-battery-production/
@Ryan I believe this is a very good step towards sustainable energy and many companies should follow Musk's idea. However, I do not believe this is something everybody will do and willing to do. Gigafactories are really expensive because they are assembling everything together instead of outsourcing which is cheaper and have better expertise. I believe it is doable if only everybody agrees to it or else why would businesses follow Musk if there's a cheaper alternative to Gigafactories.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest concern of Gigafactories is that every step is dependent of each other so it may cause wait times/down times while they are waiting for the battery to be assembled.
According to my research, Elon Musk's goal of 500,000 cars is nowhere commpared to GM who sold 10 million cars. This may be a right step forward, but there is still a long way to go.
I forgot to add my reference for my reply.
ReplyDeleteReference:
http://www.fondoemprendedores.fundacionrepsol.com/en/up-to-date/news/pros-and-cons-telsas-megafactory
Ryan, your article was short and easy to understand about the gigafactory that Tesla is building. To answer your first question, I definitely think that more companies will follow suit and join Tesla's example of becoming more sustainable. Since corporations love monetary benefits, if the government offers more incentives for companies to become more sustainable, corporations will have no problem in creating new products/services that will be beneficial in the long-term. I hope to see this deployment in the future.
ReplyDeleteNon-renewable sources of energy, i.e., coal, petroleum, natural gas and any naturally occurring mineral cannot be produced at a rate equal to its consumption. With time the sources will get depleted, and they also have a big impact on climate change. To save the situation in the energy sector, companies should embark on renewable energy production and utilization to reduce the negative impacts associated with climate change and pollution. The success of Gigafactory to reach and maintain zero energy in the production of more lithium ion batteries for storage of solar energy will reduce the rate at which the Ozone layer is being depleted by man-made climate change activities.
ReplyDelete