(ELE) BEHOLD - THE TESLA SOLAR NEIGHBOURHOOD

The world’s first Tesla solar neighborhood is becoming a reality in Austin, where Tesla is deploying solar roofs and Powerwall in a brand-new development.

Last year, Tesla signed a breakthrough deal to deploy solar roofs and Powerwalls on a “large scale” in a new community in Austin, Texas. The project is in partnership with Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra, where they are offering Tesla Solar Roofs and Powerwalls as packages on brand new houses in a new 12,000-home development project called Easton Park.

It has been identified as an important project for Tesla, one where they can penetrate the new housing market with solar and energy storage.

The project has been going on for a year, but we haven’t heard much about it.

Now Electrek has learned that Tesla is ramping things up at Easton Park by focusing solar roof installation crews on the new house projects. Last quarter, we reported that Tesla stopped scheduling new solar roof projects as the product is still lagging way behind schedule.

Now sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Electrek that Tesla is starting to plan new solar roof installations again for the fourth quarter, and the focus is on new houses, like the ones in Easton Park

linkThere are already quite a few houses in Easton Park with Tesla Solar Roofs and Powerwalls, like the one above. Brookfield Asset Management has many listings with the “Tesla Solar Package” in the Tesla solar neighborhood:

An Easton Park resident going by Mario D. explained why he decided to go with the Tesla package:

I did a cost-benefit analysis: I went to the Tesla site and put in the same characteristics of the house we’re buying and what it would cost to add a Tesla Roof. There’s a big cost savings for at getting it at install.

Mario’s system produces more electricity than he needs, and he can sell the rest back to the grid:

I can generate passive income long-term by using the same energy-saving habits I already have.

Electrek recently reported that Tesla is setting up a company to sell retail electricity in Texas, and it is deploying a virtual power plant. These new installations in Easton Park could eventually be included in Tesla’s upcoming Texas virtual power plant. electrek - link - Fred Lambert link - more like this (residential solar) - link - more like this (solar shingles) - link - more like this (Austin, Texas) - link