Modi in Silicon Valley: Tesla’s Powerwall dream for India

SAN JOSE (CALIFORNIA): It was an energising trip for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he visited the Tesla Motors headquarters in Palo Alto, California. The trip sparked Mr Modi’s dreams for triggering renewable revolution in India.

The charismatic CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk took the leader of the world’s largest democracy for a drive in the company’s trend-setting electric car plant in Palo Alto. On the way, Mr Modi discussed the implications of the revolutionary battery technology in India and developments in renewable energy.

The meeting focused on adapting and obtaining the company’s Powerwall” invention for India, a long-term storage device for solar energy which could “bring energy to hitherto un-serviced areas of India,” Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry said.

The battery storage suitable for Indian needs is expected to look at more than just solar power and could be useful where there is a need for off-peak power from alternative sources of energy. A major constraint appears to be the cost of the battery which may potentially exceed what is widely affordable or commercially feasible in the Indian context. While, there were no reports of Tesla setting up a manufacturing unit in India, the option cannot be ruled out and could be discussed in future. As India continues to be one of the largest growing automobile markets, Tesla could tap into the sector with its niche production. Indian representatives and Tesla representatives discussed the adoption of renewable energy technology which was preliminary and meant to understand the technologies and products.

As the world’s fastest growing economy and the third largest Asian economy, India has been signing agreements with energy rich countries to meet its growing demand and increasing consumption. The US and India are looking to forge a robust and multi-faceted renewable energy partnership. The US-India Energy Dialogue held on September 22 discussed step up efforts to make low-cost energy accessible to nearly 200 million people in India.

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