Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

[Rhiannon12866]

Photovoltaic glass shingles produce electricity from the sun

Tesla built factory in Buffalo with help from New York State

Tesla Inc. has kicked off production of its long-awaited electricity-producing shingles that Elon Musk says will transform the rooftop solar industry.

Manufacturing of the photovoltaic glass tiles began last month at a factory in Buffalo built with backing from New York State, the company said in an email Tuesday. It comes more than a year after Tesla unveiled the shingles to a mix of fanfare and skepticism.

The appeal: a sleek, clean solar product, especially for homeowners seeking to replace aging roofs. The tiles -- from most angles -- look like ordinary shingles. They allow light to pass from above and onto a standard flat solar cell.

Tesla, the biggest U.S. installer of rooftop-solar systems, piloted the product on the homes of several employees. The company expects to begin installing roofs for customers within the next few months.


More (Includes video): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-09/tesla-powers-up-new-york-gigafactory-solar-roof-assembly-line

[jmowreader]

1. They're having more trouble getting the Model 3 out, I take it.

[democratisphere]

2. Good news! Hope the new facility and products are a success!

[ffr]

3. Tesla is going to be an unstoppable force in renewables

The stuff they have developed is turning heads and turning around mindsets.

[hunter]

4. I suspect this will not end well. Rooftops are an incredibly harsh environment.

The conductive glue holding these tiles together is the secret sauce that will go bad before the thirty year warranty expires.

https://electrek.co/2017/08/30/tesla-solar-roof-tile-system-explained-patent/

My own engineering style is extremist "Keep It Simple Stupid," possibly because I'm so frequently stupid myself, or working with or for stupid.

This solar tile roofing system is not simple, especially compared to large conventional panels mounted above ordinary roofing with good air circulation beneath.

Maybe Elon Musk knows what he is doing, but I'm curious if he's keeping this venture isolated from his automobile and rocket businesses. Roofing is a lot like plumbing. If a plumbing or roofing system goes ugly it's lawsuits forever.

These tiles have a "forever" warranty, but it only applies to the structural integrity of each tile, not to the roof itself as weather proofing or as an energy source.

Twenty years from now, I see a healthy recycling market for these small robust solar panels, but not for reuse in any roofing applications.