AEE: Can Tesla and SolarCity create a residential solar storage market?

Americans See High Energy Costs Ahead But Bullish That...

Americans are gloomy about future costs for energy and the vast majorities are taking steps to reduce their personal energy costs, but they see economic benefits to emerging energy-saving technologies that they think will create jobs and...

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and solar panel installer SolarCity (previously: SolarCity files for IPO) have teamed up to create storage batteries for rooftop solar systems. As Greentech Media reports, the residential solar storage market has so far been untapped, and could lead to a value-add for homeowners:

[Sam Jaffe, IDC Energy Insights analyst,] states that SolarCity is offering the systems at a cost of $2,000 per kilowatt-hour, which would add up to $40,000 for a 5-kilowatt system. SolarCity advertises the system as a way for homeowners to back up their homes in case of power outage, but it’s likely the bigger financial benefit would be to put power back on the grid to manage peak grid power, which could get the utility involved in further subsidies.

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