Battery powered homes: Tesla Powerwall deliveries are happening [Video]

For all the excitement surrounding Tesla Energy since the initial launch event last year, we've been anxiously waiting to witness the first deliveries of the much-anticipated home battery storage product, the Tesla Powerwall. Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) just recently described their efforts in the energy storage space as a “system developer for batteries” – meaning that its core business is to develop and utilize battery and battery management technologies for different system applications – whether it’d be for electric vehicles or stationary energy storage.

Source: ABC Australia

And, although Tesla Motors is mostly known for its electric vehicles, it's likely that the company will soon take another industry by storm -- the energy industry. It turns out that Australia has already been moving towards stationary storage. It's becoming such a big deal down under that the press have been creating serious buzz to announce its arrival. To better understand how home battery storage is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, check out this clip from ABC's Catalyst TV* program that demonstrates both how and why Australians are turning to battery powered homes. Of special note: check out the so-called "competition" Tesla has in the space. It's clear that Tesla's plug-and-play (and beautiful) solution is quite different from current offerings. From Tesla's Roadster to the new Powerwall, the company is credited with an exciting, much-anticipated solution to the energy problem...

*Source: Caltalyst (ABC)

So have Tesla Powerwall deliveries already begun? Yes, indeed. It turns out that local news recently covered a Powerwall delivery to the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill. Check out Andrew, an Economics Professor, as he discusses why he personally purchased the Tesla Powerwall for his home...

Source: ABC Australia

And, last week, news hit that Nick Pfitzner (see below) from Kellyville Ridge was the first residential recipient of the Tesla Powerwall in Australia. He explains, "I have been following Tesla since it has been doing stuff with the electric cars because renewable energy is something I am very keen on... When I saw Tesla was rolling out the Powerwall, I quickly paid my deposit and was ecstatic to find I was going to be the first person in Australia to have one installed residentially. I got to be king of the nerds for one day. I really like what they are doing here with the design of the Powerwall, it’s similar to what Apple did for smartphones."

Source: news.com.au (Photos: Hugo Sharp)

The first delivery in the UK has arrived as well. Mark Kerr (see below) has become the first British owner of a Tesla Powerwall. Kerr explains, "This is the future, definitely... Me and my family are all out in the day, and we are not making use of the enormous amount of clean energy that our solar panels produce. The battery will allow us to store the energy we don’t use in the day to use when we need it in the evenings. It’s a gorgeous-looking piece of technology, its design is very sleek and minimalistic and something you can hang on the wall like a piece of art, definitely nothing like some of the other clunky looking batteries."

Source: The Guardian (Photo: Gareth Phillips)

And Tesla Energy is in fast-growth mode. According to Electrek, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced, "We are coming up with the Version 2 of the Powerwall probably around July or August of this year, which will see further step changes in capabilities." While on the commercial side, Sprig Electric (in Australia) also recently released the details of its larger-scale energy storage project with five Tesla Powerpacks.

Source: Tesla Motors

And yesterday, it was reported that Tesla Energy is advertising 15 Australia-based jobs in roles ranging from business operations, to sales and engineering and field support. This week’s recruitment drive makes it clear that Tesla is confident demand for its products will continue to grow. According to Heath Walker, a senior marketing manager for Tesla based in Melbourne, the new jobs aim to get the company to scale quickly, ensuring the right support for the market. 

We look forward to seeing how the exciting Tesla Energy business initiatives grow worldwide in 2016.