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Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

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Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#41

Post by sp332 »

bkjelden wrote: post #9
kodis wrote: post #2

I really love the work that Tesla is doing in this area, and wish them all the luck in the world, but if the estimates in the article are even close ($57K for a Tesla roof, $41K for a tile roof with a small solar panel, $22K for a conventional asphalt roof) it's hard for me to see this being cost effective.

The roof tiles they use are supposedly 'indestructible' and have a longer life than asphalt shingles. That being said, I'm skeptical of their claim. Not many things are indestructible when a large hailstorm rolls through.

Don't they have a lifetime warranty? They're at least putting their money where their mouth is.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#42

Post by marnett »

JohnStudio wrote: post #26
wmf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Local governments never benefit from such incentives so this case isn't notable.

... and why is that? why can we ask for benefits? Another irony is the hydro-power we get from the Niagara Falls energy generation, yet we pay the highest energy costs in the country in Erie County .. we sell most of that hydro power to PA and OH. It seems rather upside down, IMHO.

typically these massive corporate incentives are just a part of the corporatist strategy of pitting all American cities against each other in order to get a company to set up shop there (look no further than Amazon's scheme from this summer accepting 'applications' (per-se) from different cities for HQ2 - many suspect this is just a scheme to force Seattle into more favorable tax incentives, etc which they previously were unwilling to offer).

Whether the city's leadership truly believe the corporation will aid them is up in the air, most of the time the city loses out, and the corporation leaves when the incentives dry up. If you're optimistic, than many city council members just get unlucky because it is 100% 'beneficial in theory and just not in practice'. If you're a little more skeptical, given this corporatist strong arming happens nationwide constantly, it is just the reality of corporations exploiting cities.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#43

Post by michaelbuckbee »

kodis wrote: post #2

I really love the work that Tesla is doing in this area, and wish them all the luck in the world, but if the estimates in the article are even close ($57K for a Tesla roof, $41K for a tile roof with a small solar panel, $22K for a conventional asphalt roof) it's hard for me to see this being cost effective.

It's like any sort of tech: the first version is too expensive and then the price drops some % every year until we all have "supercomputers" in our pockets.

Plain Solar Panel (non roof) installation has gone from $52k to $20k in the last decade [1] which is craziness.

The other aspect of this is longevity. Setting all solar power generation aspects aside an asphalt roof will generally last 20-25 years. Tesla roof tiles appear to last much longer (infinite warranty, etc.) and are maybe more comparable to a slate roof which would be 10x the cost of an asphalt roof.

As a reference point, I grew up in a house built in the 1920s and just confirmed via Google Streetview that it still has it's original slate roof.

1 - https://news.energysage.com/solar-panel-efficiency-cost-over...

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#44

Post by bradlys »

ricardobeat wrote: post #8
kodis wrote: post #2

I really love the work that Tesla is doing in this area, and wish them all the luck in the world, but if the estimates in the article are even close ($57K for a Tesla roof, $41K for a tile roof with a small solar panel, $22K for a conventional asphalt roof) it's hard for me to see this being cost effective.

The idea is that the energy generated makes up for the added cost, so cost of roof - energy savings = less than standard roof.

"A plain-old asphalt roof with panels would run about $22,000"

That's with panels to give equivalent power output. You're essentially paying a $35k premium for a sleeker install.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#45

Post by zardo »

JohnStudio wrote: post #24
tw04 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it hadn't operated at a profit in over 2 years (I believe) And how much of that is a direct result of the fact they are competing against Chinese-made panels that are directly funded by the Chinese government? There is literally no way you can have a discussion about ANY renewable energy without it being political. Either the US is going to protect US industry from Chinese goods being sold below-cost, or we're goin…

I don't dispute that point - however, investment in a company that can't turn a profit by a magnitude of $750 million of our tax dollars and area doesn't seem to be a wise use of dollars. That's really my overarching concern. There's no real benefit to the local economy, so why do it? That's my business mind, not my political mind on what's good or not for the environment. In the end it's tax dollars (rather high at…

The reality is, the companies have all the cards in these deals. They have more information, better information processing, and critically, they have options.

Keep in mind the opportunity cost for these deals. Cut the company a tax break, or continue to not collect taxes on a vacant lot. If Buffalo actually brought cash to the table... that was quite a gamble.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#47

Post by snowball2 »

Looking forward to them being available in the UK, if I had't just re-roofed my house with recycled slates I'd have used these, I didn't use the option from Solar Century because they look terrible compared with the glass slates from Tesla: https://www.solarcentury.com/homes-uk/our-offer/sunstation/ -- however I do have a lot of respect for the founder of the company http://www.energylivenews.com/2015/01/12/solarcentury-founde...

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#48

Post by tbabb »

michaelbuckbee wrote: post #43
kodis wrote: post #2

I really love the work that Tesla is doing in this area, and wish them all the luck in the world, but if the estimates in the article are even close ($57K for a Tesla roof, $41K for a tile roof with a small solar panel, $22K for a conventional asphalt roof) it's hard for me to see this being cost effective.

It's like any sort of tech: the first version is too expensive and then the price drops some % every year until we all have "supercomputers" in our pockets. Plain Solar Panel (non roof) installation has gone from $52k to $20k in the last decade [1] which is craziness. The other aspect of this is longevity. Setting all solar power generation aspects aside an asphalt roof will generally last 20-25 years. Tesla roof til…

20-25 years is at the limit of what I could imagine staying in one house with any certainty. How does the extra longevity justify the cost unless I plan to never ever move again?

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#49

Post by agumonkey »

bkjelden wrote: post #9
kodis wrote: post #2

I really love the work that Tesla is doing in this area, and wish them all the luck in the world, but if the estimates in the article are even close ($57K for a Tesla roof, $41K for a tile roof with a small solar panel, $22K for a conventional asphalt roof) it's hard for me to see this being cost effective.

The roof tiles they use are supposedly 'indestructible' and have a longer life than asphalt shingles. That being said, I'm skeptical of their claim. Not many things are indestructible when a large hailstorm rolls through.

The drop test shown in the announcement is impressive to me.
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