Image by Matsukin, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:
1. Forward-thinking technology company Tesla has announced that it has successfully configured a solar energy microgrid that is capable of meeting "nearly 100 percent" of an entire island. Specifically, the island of Ta'u (in American Samoa) has been outfitted with 5,328 solar panels and 60 Tesla PowerPacks that provide 6 megawatt-hours of energy storage. With this setup, Ta'u is able to have energy even if they were to go without sunlight for three straight days. As a remote community, the island previously ran on diesel generators, so the Tesla project has prevented the burning of 300 gallons of fuel per day and the cost of purchasing and shipping barrels of diesel. In addition, the inhabitants now have continuous access to electricity, whereas they previously had to ration power or accept occasional outages. If Tesla's mission is to wean the world off of fossil fuels, it is moving in the right direction.
That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.