Shivdeep Dhaliwal

Sat, September 28, 2024

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Elon Musk, the influential tech entrepreneur, recently emphasized the immense potential of solar energy, citing the Kardashev Scale and simple math to back his claims.

What Happened: In a series of posts on Thursday, Musk, known for his visionary ideas, reiterated his belief in solar energy’s potential to meet our civilization’s power needs. He stated on X, “Once you understand Kardashev Scale, it becomes utterly obvious that essentially all energy generation will be solar.”

Musk further explained that a small portion of Texas or New Mexico could easily serve all US electricity needs if utilized for solar energy generation. He also highlighted the solar energy received by one square mile on the Earth’s surface, emphasizing the efficiency of the Starlink global satellite network, which is entirely solar/battery powered.

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Why It Matters: Musk’s recent posts echo his earlier views on solar energy’s potential. In February 2023, he suggested that the amount of solar energy received by Earth could power a civilization 100 times larger than ours.

Moreover, Musk has previously highlighted the challenges of scaling renewable energy, particularly the lack of energy storage. He noted in August 2023 that the intermittent nature of wind and solar power makes stationary battery packs at utility scale increasingly important.

His company, Tesla Inc, has been actively working on energy storage solutions. In August, Musk announced that Tesla could produce over 700,000 units of its Powerwall 3, a product he termed ‘great’, in a year.