Another "Solyndra Succes" in the make?

Another "Solyndra Succes" in the make? (MercuryNews).

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that Tesla will partner with several companies besides Panasonic for its planned "gigafactory" for battery production, painting a portrait of a facility resembling a massive industrial park and saying that there eventually will be a need for several more.

Musk said that the gigafactory will drive battery costs down by more than 30 percent.

"I think we will probably do better than 30 percent cost reduction," he said at the World Energy Innovation Forum at Tesla's Fremont factory Wednesday. "We are making a humongous factory. There will be other companies besides us and Panasonic. So far it's looking good. We're building a gigafactory because we can't think of any other way to scale."

But the gigafactory will not just supply batteries for Tesla's electric cars: Stationary battery packs will be provided to SolarCity, the San Mateo solar-installation company run by Musk's cousins, and other renewable energy companies in the solar and wind industries.
Once large quantities of energy can be stored, experts say, the electric grid can make better use of solar, wind and other technologies that generate energy sporadically rather than in a steady flow, and can better manage disruptions from unpredictable events such as storms and wildfires.
"They will be for anyone who wants to buy them, really," Musk said of the stationary battery packs. "There will be quasi-infinite demand for battery storage if the energy density and the price are good enough."Read the full story here.