Tesla And Panasonic To Open Plant in Buffalo
Donald Trump promised to bring back jobs to America, especially to the areas hit hardest by terrible trade deals in the mid west.He stopped Carrier from moving helping Indiana and now he has set his sights on Buffalo New York.
Unlike Barack Obama who used endless committees and polls to tell him what to do, Trump just picked up the phone and got to work.He called up the Carrier CEO. Same with Boeing and Lockheed Martin. He simply put his head down and went to work securing a better deal for the American worker.
Hard work pays off Barack, who was busy golfing with his buddies rather than sweating the details of his failed policies.
So you knew big news would come from Trump’s recent meeting with tech industry titans at Trump tower. While the meeting was private, clearly American jobs were at the forefront.
The factory in Buffalo will be jointly developed by Tesla and Panasonic and will make solar panels for non-solar roof products and solar glass tile roofs that Tesla plans to begin selling.
Tesla had teased the announcement in October, but the electric vehicle and stationary battery maker noted that the deal would fall through unless investors approved the SolarCity purchase.
Reuters now reports that Panasonic is investing $256 million in the factory. In a blog post, Tesla wrote that “Panasonic will cover required capital costs in Buffalo and Tesla is making a long-term purchase commitment from Panasonic.” The deal is similar to the partnership between Tesla and Panasonic at the Gigafactory, a $5 billion battery factory outside of Sparks, Nevada, that has been ramping up production throughout the year.
According to Tesla’s blog post, the factory will produce Panasonic’s “high-efficiency PV cells and modules.” It’s unclear if these solar cells will be the same as the HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) solar cells that Panasonic currently produces. Panasonic’s solar panels use several thin layers of silicon, a two-sided cell design, and heat-resistant cell structures to trap and produce energy more efficiently.
In June, Green Tech Media reported that SunPower broke rooftop solar efficiency records with panels that captured 24.1 percent of the Sun energy they were exposed to. The two runners-up were Panasonic’s panels with 22.5 percent conversion efficiency and SolarCity’s panels with 22.04 percent conversion efficiency.
Tesla noted this morning that Panasonic’s solar cell technology would also be used to create the solar roof tiles that Tesla showed off in October. A Tesla spokesperson told Ars that the solar tiles are still on track to start rolling off the line by mid-summer 2017, and the company expects to produce both solar roof tiles as well as more traditional solar panels at the Buffalo factory. Tesla wrote that it intends to produce a full gigawatt’s worth of solar tile modules by 2019.
Reuters notes that Panasonic’s experience in solar panel production is the result of a years-long push to focus on corporate clients rather than on low-margin consumer electronics.
In the wake of a contentious election that centered around the perceived undermining of the manufacturing industry in America, Tesla also noted in its Tuesday blog post that it would keep SolarCity’s earlier promise to bring 1,400 jobs to Buffalo, with at least 500 of those being in manufacturing. In addition, the company will work with Panasonic to continue solar panel research and development at SolarCity’s Fremont, California, facility.
Listing image by Tesla
Production is due to begin in mid-2017. Tesla said it will create 1,400 jobs in and has plans for rapid expansion in Buffalo.
Alex D is a conservative journalist, who covers all issues of importance for conservatives. He brings attention and insight from what happens in the White House to the streets of American towns, because it all has an impact on our future, and the country left for our children. Exposing the truth is his ultimate goal, mixed with wit where it’s appropriate, and feels that journalism shouldn’t be censored. Join him & let’s spread the good word!