Tesla is currently working on the largest solar array in the United States. After completion, it should provide 24 megawatts. Elon Musk apparently has similar plans in Germany.
Reno / Grünheide – photovoltaic systems now adorn the roofs of some residential buildings and factories, but also open spaces in Germany. According to the electricity provider Eon, there are around 1.7 million PV systems in this country. A good seven percent of global photovoltaic output came from Germany in 2020, as scientist Volker Quaschning explains – 53,900 megawatts to be precise. The automaker Tesla also seems impressed by the technology that converts sunlight into electricity. In the USA, the company is currently building what it claims to be the largest PV roof system there.
The roof of the so-called Gigafactory in sunny Nevada, where Tesla and the Japanese electronics company Panasonic produce batteries for e-cars, is to be completely equipped with photovoltaics. According to Tesla, this will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in production. “Gigafactory in Nevada was designed to be covered with solar panels,” Tesla recently wrote in its “2020 Impact Report”. At the time of the report, solar modules with a capacity of 3.2 megawatts were installed. A total of 24 megawatts should be there by the end of 2022.
Tesla builds largest solar system in the USA
Originally, however, even more was apparently planned: In 2017, according to a report by the blog Electrek, Tesla announced 70 megawatts of photovoltaics at the factory in Nevada. Nevertheless, the 24 megawatts now planned are decent – the output is comparable to the drive power of three ICE 3 trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. Such photovoltaic systems are also planned at other company locations – and apparently not only in the USA and China. Elon Musk should also have plans for Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide, which Tesla boss Elon Musk * visited together with CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet.
The location in Berlin-Brandenburg is not specifically mentioned in the Tesla report in connection with solar panels. However, elsewhere for the Grünheide plant, Tesla is showing a computer simulation that shows a photovoltaic system on the roof. According to the Teslamag portal, a spokesman confirmed that the solar roof is not part of the approval process, which is why it does not appear in the first application documents – but it will definitely come.
However, it will probably be less profitable in Germany than in the state of Nevada: According to the weather portal Climate-data.org, around 3,500 hours of sunshine are counted in Reno over the entire year. In Grünheide there are more than 1000 fewer, namely around 2475 on average over the entire year. (ial) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
