Renewable Energy
Tesla isn't just a car company — half of the Master Plan is energy generation and storage. Solar Roof and Solar Panels make the electrons; Powerwall stores them for your house; Megapack stores them for the utility. Here's how each product works and what it looks like to deploy in Ohio.
Solar Roof and Solar Panels
Tesla offers two ways to generate at the home:
- Solar Panels: traditional rack-mounted modules over your existing shingles. Lower install cost, faster install, ideal for recently re-roofed homes. Sized per Tesla design — typical Ohio installs land between 6 kW and 12 kW.
- Solar Roof: glass tiles that are the roof. Active solar tiles are mixed with matching non-active tiles for full coverage. Higher cost, longer install, but it replaces a roof that was going to need replacing anyway — and it looks like a roof, not panels.
Both products are designed to pair with Powerwall and are managed in the Tesla app alongside your cars.
Powerwall 3 — the home battery
Powerwall 3 is Tesla's third-generation home battery, with the solar inverter integrated into the battery itself (older Powerwall 2 needed a separate inverter for new solar).
- 13.5 kWh of usable energy per unit, stackable up to 4 units (54 kWh).
- 11.5 kW continuous on-grid power output, ~10 kW off-grid.
- Integrated solar inverter — up to 20 kW DC input across 6 MPPTs.
- Whole-home backup capable in most Ohio homes when sized correctly.
- 10-year warranty, indoor or outdoor installation, rated for Ohio winters.
In Ohio, the most common use cases are: (1) backup power during summer thunderstorm and winter ice-storm outages, (2) self-consumption of rooftop solar so more of what you generate stays in your house, and (3) shifting EV charging into the cheapest part of a time-of-use plan.
Megapack — utility-scale storage
Megapack is the utility-scale version: a single Megapack 2 XL stores ~3.9 MWh of energy and ships pre-assembled in a container. Utilities and developers chain hundreds together to firm up wind and solar, replace peaker plants, and provide grid services.
Tesla produces Megapack at the Megafactory in Lathrop, California and is bringing a second Megafactory online in Shanghai. As of 2025, Tesla has deployed multi-gigawatt-hour Megapack projects across the US, Europe, and Australia, including major Ohio-region grid projects via PJM Interconnection.
Ohio specifics: net metering, AEP, Duke, FirstEnergy, AES
Ohio law (OAC 4901:1-10-28) requires investor-owned utilities to offer net metering for customer-sited renewable systems up to 25 kW for residential customers and larger sizes for non-residential. Net metering credits surplus generation against your usage on a monthly basis at the unbundled generation rate, with carryover.
- AEP Ohio: active net-metering tariff for qualifying systems; standard interconnection process for residential PV plus storage.
- Duke Energy Ohio: net-metering tariff available across SW Ohio service territory.
- FirstEnergy (Ohio Edison / CEI / Toledo Edison): net-metering offered to qualifying residential and small-commercial customers.
- AES Ohio (Dayton): net-metering tariff in place; member-reported approvals are typical.
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit covers 30% of the installed cost of solar and a co-installed battery through 2032. Always confirm current tariff, interconnection procedure, and incentive details with your utility and tax advisor before signing.
Tariffs, interconnection rules, and federal tax credits change. This page is general information from Ohio club members, not legal or tax advice — verify current details with your utility and a qualified professional before installation.