Tesla's battery-making 'Gigafactory' finds a home in Nevada

[Shawn Knight]

Tesla Motors has decided to build its massive battery production facility in Nevada, putting an end to a heated competition between nearly half a dozen states in the region. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval made the announcement on Thursday.

Those following the story closely likely already knew that Tesla started excavating a site in Reno back in July. Reno wasn’t officially named as the host city for the Gigafactory in the recent press release but given the excavation, it’s a pretty solid bet.

For those unfamiliar, Tesla signed a deal with electronics maker Panasonic back in July to build the world’s largest and most advanced battery factory. The $5 billion Gigafactory, as it’s being called, is expected to produce 50 gigawatt-hours of battery packs per year – enough to build half a million electric vehicles annually.

For Nevada, the deal means the creation of 6,500 new jobs and an economic impact of nearly $100 billion over the next 20 years.

The Gigafactory will be critical in the creation of Tesla’s upcoming Model 3. Unlike its existing sedan which retails for around $70,000, the Model 3 will be marketed to the masses at a price point of around $35,000. It’s expected to be based on a brand new platform that’ll transport passengers more than 200 miles on a single charge when it rolls into garages sometime in 2017.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57978-teslas-battery-making-gigafactory-finds-home-nevada.html

 

[cmbjive]

That concept picture looks nice, but there is no way they are not going to hook up such a large factory to the Nevada power grid.

 

[Steve]

That concept picture looks nice, but there is no way they are not going to hook up such a large factory to the Nevada power grid.

This is just an assumption but based on the picture above the factory is designed to be self sufficient when it comes to energy.

"Net zero energy factory"

 

[Mikymjr]

A lot of solar panels on the roof and a lot of wind turbines on the hills. Great concept for energy savings

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

That concept picture looks nice, but there is no way they are not going to hook up such a large factory to the Nevada power grid.

This is just an assumption but based on the picture above the factory is designed to be self sufficient when it comes to energy.

"Net zero energy factory"

It will almost definitely still be hooked up to the power grid. Electricity needs to go somewhere when it's produced, so if their factory produces extra due to a windy day or lower use, it needs to go somewhere. It will probably go into the grid and help power homes, etc. At night, (or during cloudy/calm days) the factory will probably be short on power, and it'll draw from the grid.

The logical question of course is "Shouldn't a battery factory just use batteries to store extra power?" Hooking up to the grid is far cheaper than using batteries to manage the power fluctuations. I'd bet 'Net zero' means some days they'll be using power from the grid, and some days they'll be providing power, but it should balance out pretty well.

 

[cliffordcooley]

It will almost definitely still be hooked up to the power grid. Electricity needs to go somewhere when it's produced, so if their factory produces extra due to a windy day or lower use, it needs to go somewhere.

Power would not be produced unless there is a load for it. The amount of load will always dictate how much power is produced. The only reason to connect to the grid under that condition, would probably be a financial decision. I do agree with you on connecting to the grid as a safety net to make sure they will always have enough power to operate.

 

[Guest]

What they did not specify is that Crab people will be underground providing extra power with stationary Bikes....

 

[cmbjive]

Power would not be produced unless there is a load for it. The amount of load will always dictate how much power is produced. The only reason to connect to the grid under that condition, would probably be a financial decision. I do agree with you on connecting to the grid as a safety net to make sure they will always have enough power to operate.

This is precisely what I mean. There might be days where the factory may be able to generate enough power on its own without using the Nevada power grid, but I am willing to bet the number of days that it will be using power from the Nevada grid will be greater than the number of days it will get power from wind and solar.

 

[MoeJoe]

And solar panel penetration into the northern Nevada housing sector is practically nil.

What an oxymoron.