SolarCity breaks ground on 1GW Silevo fab in New York

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Leading US PV installer SolarCity has broken ground on its new 1GW fab in New York State, where it will manufacture modules with Silevo, the West Coast start-up it acquired earlier this year.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo attended a ceremony yesterday to mark the start of construction at the site at Riverbend, Buffalo.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

SolarCity revealed its headline-grabbing acquisition of Silevo earlier in the summer as part of a plan to move upstream and realise a stated aim of achieving a “breakthrough” in the cost of solar power.

The fab will be located at the High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub, a high-tech start-up facility owned by the State University of New York's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and built with state funding.

New York State will put US$750 million into building the facility and supporting infrastructure, and purchasing the necessary equipment. It is understood Solarcity will lease the facility for ten years and over that period invest US$5 billion into running the facility.

Cuomo said of the project: “We said four years ago that we have to change the mentality of Buffalo, and every day since we have been working hard to continue this new energy and momentum in Western New York. Less than a year after announcing our original plan [for the hub], one of the leading solar companies in the world is coming on board and making this the largest advancement for Buffalo's economy in a generation. This is bigger than anything we could have imagined.”

SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive said: “Governor Cuomo shares our view that the United States can return to its place atop the world in advanced technology manufacturing. Thanks to the Governor's leadership, we will be able to quintuple the output capacity and economic impact of Silevo's original commitment. I couldn't be more excited to partner with the state to make Western New York a global capital for clean energy development.”

In conjunction with the beginning of work on the site and closing of the Silevo deal, SolarCity announced plans to issue US$500 million of convertible notes.

These will be due in 2019 and will be used for working capital and potential further acquisitions.

In a briefing note to investors, ROTH Capital Partners said the New York and Silevo deals were a “substantial win” for SolarCity.

Although it said SolarCity would be responsible for generating US$5 billion of economic activity over the next ten years, its “back-of-the-envelope analysis” suggested the US$500 million of implied economic impact was achievable as long as SolarCity met its planned 1GW of module shipments a year.

SolarCity’s vice president of structured finance, Albert Luu, will be part of a panel discussing the future of tax equity in solar at Next Generation Solar PV Finance in New York on 29 September. This one-day event is organised by PV Tech's publisher, Solar Media. Further details are available at financeusa.solarenergyevents.com/

Read Next

October 4, 2024
The companies dubbed it the ‘largest’ solar park in the Baltics and double the capacity of the previous largest operational solar PV plant in Estonia.
October 4, 2024
Xcel Energy has reached an agreement on its 2024 Resource Plan which it says will reduce its carbon emissions by 80%.
October 4, 2024
Chinese solar PV manufacturer Runergy has started production of n-type modules at its 2GW annual nameplate capacity plant in Alabama, US.
October 4, 2024
Trina Solar has filed a patent infringement complaint with the US ITC regarding TOPCon products sold by Runergy and Adani Green Energy.
October 4, 2024
“The required investment and technical know-how [for establishing cell capacity] is significantly more complex and substantial [than modules]”, Colville said.
Premium
October 4, 2024
A prominent US renewable energy lawyer has told PV Tech Premium that a Chinese challenge to the Inflation Reduction Act through the World Trade Organization should not be a cause for alarm.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2024
Huntington Place Detroit, MI
Solar Media Events
October 8, 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 15, 2024
Santiago, Chile
Solar Media Events
October 22, 2024
New York, USA