Tesla’s Powerwall, a device that stores energy from that is generated from the sun and captured by solar panels, will be available for Japanese homeowners in Spring 2020, according to recent reports.
The Tesla Powerwall is a 13.5 kWh rechargeable battery pack that is capable of supplying a residential building with multiple hours of clean, non-pollution causing energy. The Powerwall was unveiled by the Silicon Valley-based company in 2015, and is slated to cost around 990,000 Yen (about $9,000).
The price includes the installation of the Backup Gateway system that manages the grid connection. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced in October that he would be decreasing the price of solar panel and Powerwall installations by around 10% in response to a California power company’s mandatory electric shutoff.
Japanese buyers will be able to purchase the Powerwall system through Tesla’s official website or through a limited number of third-party sellers. Although Tesla has been accepting orders for the Powerwall in Japan since 2016, there were delays on when installations would start due to feed-in-tariffs that were put into place to spike the initial costs of solar energy. These are set to expire later in 2019.
Tesla recognizes that Japan has a thirst for clean energy that could help improve the company’s presence in the country. Shinji Asakura, the Japanese manager of energy products said in an interview in Tokyo that “Tesla believes that the Japanese home battery market has big growth potential,” according to Reuters.
Japan has a lack of fossil fuels naturally and is forced to import many of its energy sources, those mainly being crude oil, natural gas, and uranium. The country utilized nuclear energy for 30% of its needs until 2011 when a power plant in Fukushima created the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Asakura believes that the addition of the Powerwall batteries to residential buildings will allow residents to supply their homes with power in a more energy-efficient fashion. He anticipates that residents will be using the Tesla battery pack as a backup for when natural disasters knock out power to homes. But hopefully, the up-and-coming installations will convince Japanese citizens to switch to solar power altogether.
Tesla’s global initiative to wean the world off of fossil fuels is becoming a reality. They have once again expanded the region of where Powerwalls will be available. Since 2015, Telsa has installed a Powerwall system at over 50,000 locations in seven different countries, according to a company spokesperson.
