Tesla is powering an entire island with solar energy, NBD

Word on the street is Tesla has some serious solar power skills. In case you weren't 100 percent convinced, the energy storage company is working to provide the entire island of Ta’u in American Samoa with energy. An entire island. No big deal, right? After Tesla's $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity was approved by its shareholders on Thursday, the company announced its major solar energy project: SolarCity and Tesla: Tau Microgrid. SEE ALSO: Elon Musk says Tesla's solar roof will be cheaper than a regular roof According to a SolarCity blog post — smoothly titled, "Island in the Sun" — the remote island has had quite the struggle in regards to power rationing and outages. Now, thanks to Tesla's cost-saving solar panel technology, things are changing. The island is now host to a solar power and battery storage-enabled microgrid, which was implemented over the course of a year and can supply almost 100 percent of the island’s power needs from renewable energy. The microgrid is comprised of "1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity from SolarCity and Tesla," along with "6 megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Powerpacks," which allows the island to utilize stored solar energy when the sun goes down. Aside from ditching its costly diesel generators, some of the life-changing benefits that the nearly 600 residents of the island will receive include giving buildings like the local hospital, schools and fire and police stations the ability to confidently remain powered without fear of rationing energy or suffering an outage. In fact, the microgrid will allow the island to stay fully powered for three whole days without sunlight, with its capacity able to fully recharge in seven hours. The energy improvements will also provide people with simple peace of mind. "It’s always sunny out here, and harvesting that energy from the sun will make me sleep a lot more comfortably at night, just knowing I’ll be able to serve my customers," said Keith Ahsoon, a local resident whose family owns a food store on the island. Funded by the American Samoa Economic Development Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior, this groundbreaking project is expected to prevent the use of more than 109,500 gallons of diesel per year. Woah, baby. “This is part of making history. This project will help lessen the carbon footprint of the world, Ahsoon said. "Living on an island, you experience global warming firsthand. Beach erosions and other noticeable changes are a part of life here. "It’s a serious problem, and this project will hopefully set a good example for everyone else to follow." BONUS: Elon Musk's $2.6 billion bet on a clean energy empire