Posted on 07/08/2023 7:12:25 AM PDT by Brilliant
New York spent nearly $1 billion over the past decade on Elon Musk’s ambitious plan for what was supposed to be the largest solar-panel factory in the Western Hemisphere, one of the largest-ever public cash outlays of its kind.
“You almost have to pinch yourself, right?” New York’s then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a construction ceremony for the factory in 2015. “That this is too good to be true.” Eight years later, that looks like a pretty good assessment.
New York state paid to build a quarter-mile-long facility with 1.2 million square feet of industrial space, which it now owns and leases to Tesla for $1 a year. It bought $240 million worth of solar-panel manufacturing equipment. Musk had said that by 2020 the Buffalo plant each week would churn out enough solar-panel shingles to cover 1,000 roofs.
The Tesla solar-energy unit behind the plan… is averaging just 21 installations a week, according to energy analysts at Wood Mackenzie who reviewed utility data. The building houses some factory workers, but also hundreds of lower-paid desk-bound data analysts working on other Tesla business.
The suppliers that Cuomo predicted would flock to a modern manufacturing hub never showed up. The only new nearby business is a Tim Horton’s coffee shop. Most of the solar-panel manufacturing equipment bought by the state has been sold at a discount or scrapped.
A state comptroller’s audit found just 54 cents of economic benefit for every subsidy dollar spent on the factory, which rose on the site of an old steel mill. External auditors have written down nearly all of New York’s investment.
“It was a bad deal,” said state Sen. Sean Ryan, a Democrat who represents Buffalo. “A cautionary tale is you can’t give governors too much power to get on the phone with egotistical billionaires.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Appears to be a hit piece on Musk. I thought it was some kind of open competition. I'll look around.
That it failed is clear. So, technology not mature enough? No market at the price available? What are the underlying reasons?
Sen Ryan blames “egotistical billionaires”.
Pure asshattery.
The Chinese undercuts US suppliers on price—certainly one reason for the failure.
The Blue States are socialist. So people are moving to the Red States.
We knew this whole solar energy thing was a scam when we saw how many prime sites for industrial development had already been purchased for development as solar farms — in a region that gets fewer sunny days in a typical year than Seattle or Portland.
“The suppliers that Cuomo predicted would flock to a modern manufacturing hub never showed up“
Well it’s in NY duh
well, in order to be useful, the gov can use the building to house missing cocaine packets
And the Ponzi of the day doing his best.
“prime sites for industrial development had already been purchased for development as solar farms”
It is possible, perhaps likely, that the vacant land had been bought by Cuomo “insiders/friends” before the deal was done and then was sold for a huge profit—with appropriate kickbacks to Cuomo of course.
"Steven Aiello, a Syracuse real estate executive was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in funneling bribes to Percoco to gain his influence in an ambitious Buffalo Billion development project aimed at encouraging economic development upstate."
Federal Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Former Top Cuomo Aide
Solar panels a fairly labor intensive to manufacture so they probably can’t compete with Asia on price. The Tesla factory in Texas has 30,000 solar panels on the roof that spell out Tesla.
Socialism breeds corruption, which is why the politicians like it so much.
Rich folks love Socialism because it blocks competition.
THIS IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NEVER BE INVOLVED IN STARTING BUSINESSES
“That it failed is clear. So, technology not mature enough?”
How about those halogen light bulbs? Or CFLs (Compact Fluorescent) ? Going the way of the Dodo and buggy whip.
How about those C Band satellite dishes?
78s, 45s, 8 Tracks, cassettes, VHS & Betamax video tapes, CDs/DVDs, film cameras, bag phones, etc.
$1 billion for the fake climate change or is it global warming which are the same with different names ,LOL
Let’s be honest here. 21 installs per week IS MORE than 1,000 per year.
So the project was a success?
Tesla makes more than the standard flat-panel solar systems that China likes to build cheaply. Tesla is also making cutting-edge solar tiles and panels for homes and businesses that double as roof coverings. The solar tiles are nearly invisible in looks as compared to ordinary tiles, and also does double duty for covering a roof from weather and wear, and can take hard hits without breaking unlike ordinary solar panels that shatter from hail.
Having said that, the market for them hasn't taken off, perhaps too expensive or too innovative, so sales are few so far. May take many years to gain acceptance by the public. As for ordinary solar panels, Tesla is installing them on all their factories. The Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada is covered with them, and supplies all it's own electricity for operations.
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