
Large Tesla Powerpack project quietly deployed at new solar project in Arizona - rbanffy
https://electrek.co/2018/05/29/tesla-powerpacks-without-logo-new-solar-project-arizona/
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sandworm101
>> I wouldn’t read too much into it since they can do whatever they want with
their batteries, but it’s still weird that they would take the time to remove
the branding.

Politics? This is Arizona. Does the Tesla brand, and its association with
"green" energy and electric cars, stir up to many feelings? I've got elderly
relatives who live there much of each year. I make a point to never discuss
anything to do with the environment, which they view as a "grand conspiracy"
to destroy America. I doubt they would appreciate hearing that their local
government is doing business with Tesla. Maybe keeping the branding out of
local papers is deliberate.

If Tesla truly wanted to hide from everyone then this article wouldn't be our
there to read.

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toomuchtodo
The utility agreed to this bregrudgingly as part of a settlement, hence no
badging.

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DoubleCribble
The Valley of the Sun has 300+ days of sun a year. Perhaps SRP sees the Tesla
Powerpack as an existential threat? For the millions of tract homes in the
valley, a decent setup (panels/battery) would allow MONTHS without needing any
electricity from the utility. An industrial sized solar farm, could do the
same for businesses.

Regulatory capture may be their only way to survive.

~~~
sandworm101
>> An industrial sized solar farm, could do the same for businesses.

Some businesses. I'm not a fan of urban sprawl. Inside cities most businesses
don't have the space for wind/solar. Stadiums couldn't ever be self-sustaining
on solar. Nor should they. A business with very irregular power demands would
require lots of unneeded storage/generation capacity. (Think a concert hall
doing five shows in a busy week and none the next.) There will always be a
place for on-demand grid-provided power. The nature of how power is generated
may change but grids of wires will be a thing for a very long time.

~~~
tracker1
Depends on the stadium... here in Phoenix they could just cover all the spaces
in the parking lot with solar panels. Though the actual benefits to the planet
may not be as great as advertised, and it was always heavily subsidized.

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olivermarks
Tesla/SolarCity previously imposed unfair fees on potential solar power
purchasers, which virtually killed the local solar market.

When Musk company SolarCity was heading for BK Tesla 'bought' them and made
them part of Tesla. This has more to do with that than people having political
issues with Tesla and environmentalists etc.

Tesla batteries are essentially Panasonic units with Tesla branding and
packaging...

~~~
josefresco
_Tesla /SolarCity previously imposed unfair fees on potential solar power
purchasers, which virtually killed the local solar market._

Don't you mean _SRP_ imposed unfair fees? That's how I read the below snippet
(without any background)

 _Through its acquisition of SolarCity, Tesla took over a longstanding lawsuit
against Salt River Project (SRP), an electric utility in Arizona, over the
company’s practice of imposing “unfair” fees on potential solar power
purchasers, which has virtually killed the local solar market._

~~~
maxyme
As a former Arizona resident SRP is a federal government entity which makes
them operate differently than most power companies. They operate the canals to
bring water from the Colorado River to Arizona and became a power company at
one point as well.

There is an Arizona State law about the maximum monthly fee a power company
can impose for net metering (allowing a residential consumer to sell back
power for credits then buy power using those credits). Since SRP is a federal
entity they do not need to follow that law. More info:
[https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2016/0...](https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2016/03/25/srp-
data-shows-some-solar-customers-save-money-demand-rates/81886548/)

~~~
olivermarks
I may have been wrong on this then - I talked to someone from Arizona about
SolarCity this year, seems the ideal place for solar to flourish. I still
can't figure out if solarcity were part of the problem or part of the solution
for affordable solar.
[https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/03/21/srp-
tesl...](https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/03/21/srp-tesla-settle-
lawsuit-brought-by-solarcity.html) There was some grumbling that Solarcity
settled with SRP, but didn't solve the problem and entered into partnership
with SRP that wasn't in consumers best interests.

~~~
tracker1
In the end, SRP is charging a _LOT_ more for the power you do have to get from
SRP. If you do solar with SRP, also get something like a couple Tesla walls.
You don't want to get any more than you absolutely have to. The rates are like
over half higher than non-solar customers. The rates for APS are weirdly
restricted as well, but not bad.

