Posted on 04/12/2014 3:07:03 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
"......The California car firm yesterday revealed plans for the factory that would employ up to 6,500 people , cover 1,000 acres, and cost $5 billion, said the Wall Street Journal,
Solar and wind farms would at least in part supply the huge power needs of the plant in either Nevada, New Mexico, or Arizona. Reno is thought to be a favorite.
Tesla needs its own production to hit its cost target for a more affordable car.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's idea is a "Gigafactory" that takes in raw materials and produces finished lithium-ion batteries. He has said he intends to build the factory with unidentified partners...."
quote “The solution to electric cars is to develop a standard detachable battery pack, like my cordless drill, that can be replaced in a few minutes. You could go to a station, an attended could switch packs while you get coffee. The station could charge a fee and everyone is happy. No more 8 hour down times.”
umm.... that is exactly what Tesla is now doing. They can switch out two cars batteries faster than it would take to fill up one car with gas.
Thanks for actual technical facts instead of the uninformed BS that’s usually spewed on threads like this.
By the time Obama leaves office, 35k for a new car will feel like a bargain.
Wrong. It took about a decade and a bit over a billion dollars for SpaceX to develop the Falcon 9 launcher. Of that amount, about $800 million was federal grants and subsidies from both NASA and DoD.
The great "money saving" contract to SpaceX to deliver cargo to ISS is no bargain either. That 12 flight contract costs the government $1.6 billion or, $133 million per flight. The up-mass for a single Falcon 9/Dragon is 7300 lbs. That costs out at $18,219 per pound of supplies delivered to ISS.
For comparison, the costs of delivery to ISS by Shuttle were around $10,000 per pound. That makes SpaceX about 80% more expensive than Shuttle, at least for this purpose.
SpaceX and most of "New Space" are not "private enterprise" -- they are simply money-grubbing contractor leeches with better public relations skills than Boeing and LockMart.
Your point is well made, but I'll dispute the "really cool" part of it. Just look at the energy density of this technology, both in energy per unit mass, and energy per unit volume. All are but a tiny fraction of the gasoline in your "gas tank". Until automobiles are able to safely haul around the energy in 20 gallons of gasoline, and insert it into a vehicle in 5 minutes along side of the road, these technologies are only pipe dreams.
Lyndon Rive is Elon Musk's cousin.
Aug 14, 2013: Reid’s clean energy push boosted with official welcoming of solar panel firm to Las Vegas "Fresh from his National Clean Energy Summit on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had another green date today, cutting the ribbon to open solar panel developer SolarCity’s new Las Vegas office.
Reid and Gov. Brian Sandoval, whose economic development team courted the San Mateo, Calif., company to establish a Nevada operation and shepherded it through the state’s tax incentives process, welcomed SolarCity’s first 138 Nevada employees at the event.
Many of the new employees are Bay Area transplants, but the company promises hundreds of local construction jobs on the horizon as soon as the Nevada Public Utilities Commission delivers regulations on the broad-scale installation of solar panels on residences and businesses.
State officials expect the regulations process to take several months with publication by the second quarter of 2014.
“It’s really important that the way it gets implemented allows for rooftop solar panel installations,” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.
Centralized solar power generation, as opposed to rooftop panels linked into the grid, generally is favored by utility companies for competitive reasons. The first workshop meeting on Nevada’s regulations is Aug. 29.
“But once rooftop installations happen, the market will boom,” Rive said.
Sandoval said the installation of rooftop solar systems would boost Southern Nevada’s construction industry.
“It’s continuous construction,” Sandoval said. “It’s not one big project and we’re done. It’s small rooftop jobs that will require hiring electricians and roofers.”
SolarCity already is partnering with homebuilder Shea Homes to build more than 100 solar projects in Nevada housing communities.
SolarCity currently has a back-of-the-house team of sales representatives serving 14 states from the Town Square office formerly occupied by the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, which subleased the 28,000 square feet.
Reid’s contribution to the solar energy collaboration was his support of 2008 legislation to extend federal tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting, Reid said he “can’t wait for Nevada to become a fantastic solar state” and energy independent. Because Southern Nevada has sunny days 85 percent of an average year, the area has explosive growth potential for solar energy.
Rive predicted SolarCity’s Nevada operation could become the company’s largest. He said that once the Public Utilities Commission’s regulations are approved, it would only take three to six months for the company to fill local warehouse and distribution positions and train workers on installations."
And is this a link to why the BLM wants the rancher Bundy gone?:
Bureau of Land Management Hiding Behind Toothless Tortoise
04/12/2014 5:06:42 AM PDT · by iontheball · 14 replies
CFP ^ | April 12, 2014 | Judi McCleod
A June 1990 study, called The Desert Tortoise in Relation to Cattle Grazing by Vernon Bostick formerly posted to the University of Arizona website (and still found through Google) should prove once and for all the incredible stupidity of the bumbling bureaucrats with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM’s self-proclaimed ‘Save the Tortoise’ balderdash is killing off both the tortoise and cows:
Love to see that Desert Landscape compared in the same 3D perspective with the Ranch in question.....
I think “renewable energy” has its sites set on a lot of land out West.
Rancher Cliven Bundy seems to have drawn a line in the sand.
Exactly. It’s fascinating to me that FReepers routinely excoriate a guy who is revolutionizing the automobile and the space industry.
LAS VEGAS, March 21, 2013—SolarCity® (Nasdaq: SCTY), a leading provider of clean energy, announced that it plans to open a new location in Nevada, and expects to create hundreds of jobs in the state in the next several years. SolarCity’s expansion is due in large part to the efforts of Governor Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Office of Economic Development.
“The approval today of SolarCity’s Catalyst Fund application, represents the successful collaborative effort that took place between local, regional and state economic development agencies,” Governor Brian Sandoval said. “I am excited to welcome SolarCity to the Nevada family.”
The new location will initially house new expansions of key administrative divisions, including portions of the company’s sales, asset management and customer care groups. SolarCity’s first solar projects in the state are also underway—the company is building more than 100 solar projects in Nevada housing communities in partnership with Shea Homes.
“SolarCity is changing the way families and businesses across the country can benefit from clean energy and I am pleased that such an innovative company is coming to Nevada,” said Nevada Senator Harry Reid. “I was able to help pass an eight-year extension of the federal tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations in 2008 which has been instrumental in creating jobs across Nevada and the nation. I hope that SolarCity’s expansion will help Nevada create the regulatory and business certainty needed to continue to take advantage of Nevada’s abundant solar energy resources.”
Nevada receives among the greatest amount of direct sunlight of any state in the U.S. Though Nevada hosts a handful of large solar power plants, the state’s potential for distributed residential and commercial solar power generation is largely untapped and has tremendous room for growth.
“With its solar resource, Nevada has an opportunity to be a national leader in distributed renewable power generation,” said Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity. “We expect today’s announcement to initially create more than 100 jobs, but a sustainable local solar industry could create thousands of jobs. We hope to partner with the state and industry to create the business and regulatory certainty that can pave the way for a thriving local solar economy.”
SolarCity is currently scouting locations in Nevada and expects to begin hiring soon. Candidates can email SolarCity directly about employment opportunities in Nevada at jobs@solarcity.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements regarding the expected number of new jobs, the future growth of solar generation in the region and other future business opportunities. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward looking statements. You should read the section entitled “Risk Factors” in SolarCity’s registration statement on Form S-1, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and identifies certain of these and additional risks and uncertainties. SolarCity does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise."
“...........Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is a big advocate of clean energy and hosts a National Clean Energy Summit every August in Las Vegas; Musk spoke at the summit in 2012. And Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has met with executives from Tesla to make the state’s case to be the site of the Gigafactory.
“Tesla is an exceptional company, and we are honored to be included in their list of finalists,” said Steve Hill, director of Sandoval’s Office of Economic Development. “Our office has been working with the regional development authorities and local governments to highlight what Nevada offers: a skilled workforce, responsive workforce development and training programs, exceptional quality of life, great schools, low operating costs, and a commitment from the state of Nevada to provide the climate necessary for innovative businesses to thrive.”.....
“......In November, SolarCity announced that the contract would move forward, as a debit and finance deal with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Why would Bank of America take that risk? The undeniable conclusion is that tax benefits drive this plan. SolarCity and the other major solar companies have routinely found financial partners such as Google, U.S. Bancorp, Credit Suisse and Citigroup. Heck, even Al Gore is a major investor in SolarCity.
Despite losing the loan guarantee, SolarCity still wins big at taxpayer expense by leasing these systems back to the US government. The $1 billion dollar military projects contract from the government to SolarCiry demonstrates that despite the failure of projects like Solyndra, Obama continues to support his green energy cronies. When you follow the trail, it’s no surprise groups like Organizing for Action are joining the net metering debate here in Arizona.”......
“......The absence of signed contracts, however, has not prevented elected officials from publicly promoting the deals and taking credit for government-subsidized job creation in high-profile press events.
At an Aug. 14 ribbon cutting in Las Vegas for a new office of Catalyst Fund recipient SolarCity, Gov. Sandoval was flanked by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, U.S. Representative Joe Heck, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak and five state legislators.
Reid, according to Las Vegas CBS KXNT, said Nevada had “spared the company the ‘bureaucratic garbage’ it might have encountered in the other states.” SolarCity, which received a $1.2 million GOED award, is also a major recipient of federal largesse.
Previously, in June, Nevada Journal — in accord with Nevada’s Public Records Act — had requested copies of all signed agreements, which would have included SolarCity’s $1.2 million GOED subsidy.....”
http://nevadajournal.com/2014/02/03/nevadas-catalyst-fund-millions-pledged-without-signed-contracts/
Thus Dirty Harry is getting the BLM to persecute Bundy so that he and his son can get rich from “selling” federal land to the Chinese to build this plant?
And how many more birds and animals are going to be fried to death by this solar array like are being killed by other solar arrays and the “blessed wind turbines.”
Super, or ultra capacitors still do not have the energy density of a battery. What they have is the ability to discharge copious amperage. I imagine a modern electric car like tesla uses both ultra capacitors and lithium ion batteries.
If mush had done this with no government subsidies and crooked politicians I would not care. Clinton gave three billion to the Detroit Big three to develop hybrids. Toyota put a million on the road with their own money.
No desert tourtoises on his scrap of land there?
How exactly do electric vehicles benefit us? Emissions? Is this a global warming thing? (I mean, climate change).
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