Tesla’s fancy cars generate much of the company’s revenue, while its solar energy products are decidedly less flashy.
Elizabeth Lopatto headed to Byron Bay, Australia, to stay in a Tesla Destination, a mansion fully outfitted with high-tech renewable energy features, and to explore Tesla’s move into the residential solar sector.
"Living in Tesla’s imagined future, most of the activities of my life weren’t especially changed by switching the source from which the house drew energy. The only thing that might have qualified as a difference was me checking the Tesla app to see what was going on with my energy usage," she notes.
In South Australia, Lopatto also talked to residents using solar panels and Tesla Powerwall battery storage units. The government funded the systems, which were linked to create virtual power plants, for the mostly low-income residents. She describes a similar theme here about the easy shift to solar power facilitated by the Tesla products, where a blackout or bad weather has little effect and the only thing a resident might notice is a cheaper energy bill.
"This story is about the virtue of being boring, a perhaps underappreciated thing in our day and age. This is a story about not changing your life and how much better that can make it. That’s what Tesla is selling in terms of renewable energy: your life, but with fewer fossil fuels. Your house, powered by solar," writes Lopatto.
FULL STORY: I WENT TO AUSTRALIA TO TEST OUT TESLA’S VISION OF THE FUTURE
California Leads in Solar Rooftops
A combination of state and local incentives and building code mandates has helped California far outpace other states in residential rooftop solar permits.
Arizona Native Community Launches First Solar-Over-Canal Project
Covering an irrigation canal with solar panels doubles its utility, producing renewable energy while protecting canal infrastructure and reducing water evaporation.
Rooftop Solar on Mexico City Market to Power 300 Transit Buses
A solar project atop a massive food market will provide electricity to Mexico City's public transit buses.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service