Tesla-Panasonic Solar Deal Hinges on Plant Project in New York

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Tesla Motors Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Palo Alto, California) proposed solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and module deal with Panasonic Corporation (Osaka, Japan) hinges on a $750 million manufacturing project in Buffalo, New York, which has been tracked by Industrial Info since 2014.

Tesla and Panasonic announced this week they had signed a non-binding letter of intent to collaborate on the production of PV cells and modules for solar panels. The companies already are working together on Tesla's lithium-ion auto battery Gigafactory, which is under construction near Reno, Nevada. For related information, see April 19, 2016, article - Nevada Gigafactory to Make Batteries for Tesla's Model 3 Car.

Under the proposed collaboration, the PV cells and modules would be produced at a factory under construction in Buffalo. Construction of the Riverbend solar PV plant project kicked off in February 2015. Owned by SolarCity Corporation (NASDAQ:SCTY) (San Mateo, California), the brownfield project is slated for completion early next year. Tesla is in the process of acquiring SolarCity for $2.6 billion. The proposed collaboration between Tesla and Panasonic is contingent on shareholders' approval of the SolarCity acquisition. Shareholders with Tesla and SolarCity are scheduled to vote on the acquisition in November.

Tesla said it intends to provide a long-term purchase commitment for the cells from Panasonic.

Located on the 88-acre site of a former Republic Steel (Canton, Ohio) plant in Buffalo, the 1.2 million-square-foot factory is expected to produce 10,000 solar panels per day when it starts operations next year, according to news accounts.

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