Elon Musk can’t stop saving the world.
After developing Tesla cars, which run on clean energy, and building rockets via SpaceX, which will transport humanity to distant planets, Musk’s least known startup, SolarCity, is also embarking in big projects. SolarCity has just powered Ta’u, a remote island in American Samoa, entirely through solar panels.
Ta’u is located 2000 kms off the west coast of America, and has 600 residents. Getting diesel from land was a long and cumbersome process; boats used to carry it from shore, and took months to arrive. So SolarCity went ahead and installed 5,328 solar panels on the island. These generate nearly 100 percent power for its residents. Tesla Powerpacks store the generated electricity, and the island can remain powered for three whole days without any sunlight.
The project has been made public just a week after Tesla’s $2.6 billion (Rs. 15,000 crore) acquisition of SolarCity. Musk’s other startups are enjoying a good run – Tesla has disrupted the electric car industry, and owns 99% marketshare; SpaceX is the foremost private space company in the world. If SolarCity can scale and be as successful, we might have a sustainable solution to our huge pollution problem – there might just be (solar) light at the end of the tunnel.