solar tiles

Tesla’s energy generation and storage business revenue declined further in the first quarter of 2019, with solar rooftop deployments hitting a new low of 47MW, a 36% quarter-on-quarter decline. In response, Tesla will be offering new customers in the US a US$99 upfront deposit before installing a solar system.

Dual function residential roof tiles or shingles that incorporate solar PV (photovoltaic) cells into an integrated PV system for new build and retrofit homes have already received the ‘hype’ from Tesla’s Elon Musk but a new kid on the blog is set to go head to head with Tesla for this niche US market both from a manufacturing and installation perspective.

Tesla stopped the steep declines in residential solar installations in the second quarter of 2018, reporting deployments of 84MW, up from a low-point of 76MW in the previous quarter, an 11% increase.

US-based PV installer RGS Energy has struck an exclusive deal with Dow Chemical to exclusively sell its third generation (3.0) solar shingles under the ‘POWERHOUSE’ brand said to use conventional crystalline silicon solar cells rather than the original CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) thin-film substrates.

The lack of information in a joint press release from Tesla and Panasonic, confirming a solar cell manufacturing partnership at the SolarCity/Silevo 1GW Buffalo fab in New York State was not a surprise, especially considering it merely rubber stamped an MOU previously announced that was only subject to the successful acquisition by Tesla of SolarCity.

Tesla/SolarCity have announced the launch of a building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) residential roofing system comprised of a range of different tile formats, colours and coatings that aesthetically as possible mirror common conventional tile formats. The solar tiles can be provided as a retrofit option to the replacement of an existing aged tiled roof or as a new build alternative to standard residential roofing systems.