Recent satellite imagery shows Tesla has expanded the number of solar panels on the roof of its Gigafactory 1 just outside Reno, Nevada.
In October of 2019 the automaker added more solar panels to the roof of Giga Nevada, but was not able to meet CEO Elon Musk’s original goal of having the factory run entirely on renewable energy by the end of 2019.
Now one year later, work is underway to once again add more solar panels to the roof of the Gigfactory.
Imagery taken just yesterday from the European Space Agency’s Sentinal 2 satellite shows one complete row of solar panels has already been added. We can also see a second row has begun construction, but is not yet complete.
It is unknown at this time if the expansion will be limited to two additional rows of solar panels, or if the automaker will be adding even more.
UPDATE October 15, 2020: Twitter user @teslaonwersSV has posted photos of the new solar installation.
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ehdy4OiWP4
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 15, 2020
Tesla will need a lot more to generate 70MW of energy from the rooftop array, a figure which the company cited shortly after the Gigafactory opened in 2016. Space is not an issue as the factory is about 1.9 million square feet in size and more than 80% of the roof is still available for solar panels.
There is lots of work going on inside the factory as well. Earlier this year Tesla and Panasonic signed a new agreement effective April 1, 2020. As part of the deal, Panasonic will invest $100 million to expand its production at the facility. Tesla will also have purchase volume commitments until 2022.
We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the solar project at Gigafactory 1 and let you know how it proceeds.
Source: BuildingTesla via Reddit
