![]() ![]() So I think that people will pay more for them, but I don't think you're going to see them pay so much more that they’ll pay more for solar power than they would for their regular electricity. We do know that historically SunPower has produced really good looking panels and was able to extract a premium for those. The question will be is how much of a premium will consumers be willing to pay for these tiles versus a standard PV, and I think that really depends on what the consumers buying motivation is. These tiles, I think, will be able to command a premium because they're better looking just like the same way the people pay more for technology that's got a great aesthetic. KREAMER: I think what you've seen in last 10 years in the US solar industry is we've been able to cut costs by more than 70-percent, and today solar power globally is the lowest-cost form of energy. KREAMER: Well, I think you're one of the challenges that we find among a certain set of consumers as they look at solar panels, and the best place to put the solar panels on their houses in a location where, frankly, doesn't look very good, and the benefit of the Tesla solar roofing is that you really can't tell the difference, and it really, I think, opens up a segment of the market to consumers who are both image conscious, thinking about what their home looks like, but also really looking save money with clean affordable solar power.ĬURWOOD: Speaking of saving money, I mean, how hard on the wallet are these solar tiles going to be compared to the conventional PVs that it seems that the Chinese are making ever cheaper and cheaper? SolarCity employees install traditional solar panels on a Los Angeles home (Photo: Steve & Michelle Gerdes, Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)ĬURWOOD: So, the advantage here to using regular solar roofing material is that it doesn't look great? KREAMER: Well, the tiles from the pictures that I have seen look like slate roof and terracotta and regular asphalt shingles which really match the kinds of roofs that customers have in the markets where solar is economically attractive, and clearly these are very attractive to put on your home, and they work very similarly to a regular PV panel that you might install or you're used to seeing. Nat, welcome back to Living on Earth.ĬURWOOD: First, what do these Tesla solar tiles look like, and how do they work? We called up Nat Kreamer, CEO of Spruce Finance, and Chairman of the National Solar Energy Industries Association, for his take on this new venture. And Elon Musk is also pointing to another potential technological breakthrough: Solar roof tiles, which he says are about as efficient as regular panels but look just like a normal roof. ![]() Incidentally, SolarCity is an underwriter of Living on Earth, but has no editorial input. And in a bid to create one stop shopping for home and mobile energy, he is pushing a merger of two companies where he is the largest shareholder: Tesla and the home solar company SolarCity. A rich man, thanks to his part in building Paypal, he’s the brains behind Tesla electric cars and SpaceX, the private company already delivering cargo to the International Space Station. CURWOOD: Elon Musk is one of those entrepreneurs who’s always trying, and often managing, to create game-changing innovations.
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