Pending shareholder approval of Tesla’s $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity, the company is poised to partner with Panasonic to build solar panels for PowerWall systems.
According to Tesla’s blog, the collaboration will focus on the manufacturing of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules at the new SolarCity facility in Buffalo, New York. These will be used with Tesla’s energy storage products, the Powerwall and Powerpack.
As detailed on Tesla's blog:
"With the aid of installation, sales and financing capabilities from SolarCity, Tesla will bring an integrated sustainable energy solution to residential, commercial, and grid-scale customers."
Both Panasonic and Tesla already build batteries at the Gigafactory in Nevada, but this will be the first time both will collaborate to create solar panels.
“By working together on solar, we will be able to accelerate production of high-efficiency, extremely reliable solar cells and modules at the best cost,” says JB Straubel, Chief Technical Officer and Co-founder of Tesla.
This timely partnership highlights the importance of developing renewable energy sources and fully-integrated energy products accessible to home owners, businesses, and utilities anchored on the company’s mission to build a sustainable energy future.
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