Will Tesla Solar power Ta'u in American Samoa?

Tesla has announced their solar panels are nearly entirely powering the island of Ta'u in American Samoa. The island used to depend entirely on imported diesel fuel for its electricity, but a new initiative has seen the islanders build a 1.4-megawatt microgrid that absorbs and stores solar power for all their energy needs.

How much solar power does American Samoa have?

In 2021, solar power accounted for about 11% of American Samoa’s electricity generating capacity. American Samoa is less than 1,000 miles south of the equator and has abundant solar energy resources.

Can solar power power the island of Ta'u?

The island of Ta’u in American Samoa, located more than 4,000 miles from the West Coast of the United States, now hosts a solar power and battery storage-enabled microgrid that can supply nearly 100 percent of the island’s power needs from renewable energy.

Does Maui have a solar-energy microgrid?

Now, the island runs on a completely renewable microgrid that meets 100% of residents’ energy needs through solar power and battery storage. In 2016, the founders of Maui, Hawaii-based company Mana Pacific helped design and implement Ta’u’s solar-energy microgrid composed of over 5,300 solar panels.

How much power does a solar farm have?

This vast solar farm amounts to 1.4 megawatts of power generation capacity. Six megawatt-hours of battery storage and load balancing systems enable the microgrid to store excess energy for deployment when the sun isn’t shining. As a result, the island can stay powered for three full days with no sunlight.

Will Elon Musk build more solar panels on Kauai?

Tesla and Solar City are currently installing an even bigger solar farm with almost 55,000 solar panels on the Hawaiian island of Kauai – and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has declared the companies intend to build hundreds more of these installations.