Energy Headlines

Tesla has announced plans to create solar-powered batteries for homes and businesses, a move the company claims could change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world".

The Tesla Energy batteries represent a move away from fossil fuels and a “critical step in this mission to enable zero emission power generation”, the company said.

Chief executive Elon Musk said the wall-mounted Powerwall rechargeable lithium-ion battery could store up to 10kWh of solar and wind energy, and provide power in the event of a black out.

"The issue with existing batteries is that they suck, they’re really horrible,” Mr Musk said at an event at a Tesla facility in California on Thursday. “We have to come up with a solution, that’s the missing piece that’s needed to have a proper transition to a sustainable energy world.”

The units contain a lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software that receives dispatch commands from a solar inverter, and in integrated with the local grid.

They will retail from $3,000 (£1,954), and will start shipping to installers in the US during the summer.

Mr Musk’s brother and Tesla board member Kimbal Musk said earlier this week that the electric car manufacturer’s forthcoming battery would reduce domestic electricity bills by 25pc by using energy more efficiently.

By charging itself at 3am instead of during the afternoon, when electricity rates are significantly higher, the battery could stand to slash household electricity bills, he said.

Tesla is building the world's biggest battery factory near Reno, Nevada — a $5bn project Musk has claimed will reduce the price of battery storage by 30pc. The factory will occupy around 1,000 acres in the Nevada desert, and will be used to manufacture batteries for the company’s next electric car, the Tesla Model 3, due in 2017.