Community Solar?

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Tesla could make and sell standard solar panels there (as the "Gigafactory" was intended to do)

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-solarcity-gigafactory-complex-riverbend

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 Albany
Governor Cuomo Announces New SolarCity GigaFactory Complex at RiverBend

Will create nearly 5,000 jobs upstate, with over 3,000 in Buffalo

Governor breaks ground on largest solar manufacturing facility in Western Hemisphere

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new, one million-square-foot site for the future SolarCity GigaFactory facility, which will manufacture solar panels at the RiverBend site in South Buffalo. The Governor was in Buffalo today to officially break ground on the project, which will create more than 3,000 jobs in Western New York alone and a total of nearly 5,000 jobs in the state. The SolarCity facility will be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 1 gigawatt of annual solar capacity when it reaches full production.

“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, 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," Governor Cuomo said. “This is bigger than anything we could have imagined. It is the perfect metaphor for Buffalo, where the fundamental strength was the available hydropower. That hydropower now, that renewable energy now, will fuel the renewable energy industry for the future. I am incredibly proud that the state is playing a role in this project, because Buffalo’s future is New York’s future, and today that future is brighter than ever.”

The SolarCity GigaFactory will be located at the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, a new START-UP NY site owned by the State University of New York's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Since RiverBend was first unveiled in November 2013 by Governor Cuomo, SolarCity purchased Silevo, one of the designated anchor RiverBend tenants, and assumed an agreement with the State to increase more than fivefold the manufacturing capability of the clean energy facility. Silevo is a company that develops and manufactures high-efficiency silicon solar cells and modules.

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So, in the state with the largest amount of community solar (i.e. one with a guaranteed market) Elon chose not to make solar panels, in a purpose-built facility. Yeah, boring, affordable, highly efficient, mass market solar panels just aren’t Elon’s style.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-buffalo-gigafactory-supercharger-v3-energy-storage/

Tesla's Buffalo factory will now build Supercharger V3 and energy storage, report says
The Buffalo, New York, factory is finally looking like it'll live up to its potential, with several new lines planned in the near future.

Kyle Hyatt
May 16, 2019 12:38 p.m. PT

"Gigafactory 2" in New York is undergoing something of an identity crisis as of late. It's now mostly being used by Panasonic to make solar components, but soon, according to a Thursday report by Electrek, Tesla will give it new purpose as the home of Supercharger V3 electronics and energy storage (think Powerwall) production. Tesla is also using the facility to ramp up production on its long-awaited Solar Roof materials.

Why is that a big deal? Well, there has been a fair amount of interest in Tesla's products that aren't cars, but with the brand's initial difficulties in getting the car into volume production, those other products got pushed somewhat to the back burner. Now that production of cars has stabilized somewhat; it's becoming possible for Tesla to use some of its cell production for these other, less demanding projects.

"In addition to scaling production of Solar Roof, Tesla is also diversifying its presence in Buffalo by manufacturing and assembling Supercharger and energy storage components at Gigafactory 2," a Tesla representative told Roadshow. "We're committed to investing in Buffalo and the State, and the new power electronic lines will deliver more high-tech jobs while supporting Tesla's energy storage products and global Supercharging infrastructure."

This second wind at the factory chould create jobs and economic growth in the Rust Belt city of Buffalo. According to the Buffalo News, Tesla is less than a year from a state-imposed deadline stating that it has to basically double the size of its workforce there or get slapped with a $41.2 million penalty. This comes from the wording of the agreement that allowed Tesla to use $750 million of taxpayer money to build the factory.

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Alright! So, maybe some roof tiles (that’s cool) and other completely non-solar stuff in a factory built to produce solar panels… Hmmm… How do you suppose that will work out?

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/buffalo/additional-layoffs-announced-at-tesla-gigafactory-in-south-buffalo

Additional layoffs announced at Tesla Gigafactory in South Buffalo

By: Derek HeidPosted at 11:16 AM, May 02, 2024
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Another round of layoffs has been announced at Tesla's Gigafactory 2 in South Buffalo.

According to a WARN notice from the New York State Department of Labor, 27 employees have lost their jobs at the factory on South Park Ave.

This announcement comes after more than 285 workers (14% of the local workforce) lost their jobs at the same location.

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As part of that deal, Tesla leases the building for $1 a year until 2027 in exchange for keeping at least 1,460 jobs in Buffalo.

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Wait! 1,460? I thought it was going to create 3,000 jobs in Buffalo, and 2,000 elsewhere in the state. Those layoffs mean that Tesla is not meeting their minimum obligation. Could it have anything to do with the workers’ attempts to unionize? You know, Elon just hates unions.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-interfered-with-union-organizing-new-york-plant-us-agency-claims-2024-05-09/

Tesla interfered with union organizing at New York plant, US agency claims
By Daniel Wiessner
May 9, 20243:29 PM EDT

May 9 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), has been accused by a U.S. labor agency of discouraging workers at a Buffalo, New York, assembly plant from union organizing by barring them from using phones and other devices, an agency spokeswoman said on Thursday.

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) official issued a complaint late Wednesday claiming Tesla's workplace rule banning personal technology use, recording, and storing or sharing content violates U.S. labor law, according to the spokeswoman, Kayla Blado.

The new claims add to a pile of legal disputes between Tesla, its workers, and government agencies over the electric carmaker's employment practices, including other cases alleging unlawful anti-union conduct and a series of race discrimination lawsuits.

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Tesla, which said last month that it was laying off 14% of workers at the Buffalo plant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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