Tesla intends to construct a huge solar cell factory in Texas at an estimated cost of $10.1 billion. According to paperwork the business submitted to the state, the location, named Project Crystal Sun, would be in Fort Bend County, just outside of Houston.
Tesla said if Texas rejected the project, it would “miss the opportunity to attract billions of dollars in investment, help create thousands of full-time jobs for its residents and become a hub for domestic solar cell manufacturing in the U.S.”
“Tesla is currently evaluating the feasibility of constructing its solar cell manufacturing facility at various locations across multiple U.S. states,” the company told the state comptroller’s office.
If built, the facility would create more than 9,700 permanent full-time jobs, as well as 1,147 temporary construction jobs, Tesla said. Tesla estimated it would owe about $1.1 billion in local property taxes on the project over the next 37 years if it is not granted incentives.
Tesla Touts 380,000 Unsupervised Robotaxi Miles With ‘Zero Notable Incidents’ Tesla plans to break ground on the factory this year and complete construction by 2028, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2029.
It’s unclear if the solar panels manufactured by the factory will be used for satellite or ground-based installations. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, also oversees SpaceX, which has thousands of solar-powered spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
Musk has previously stated an aim of establishing 100 gigawatts of domestic solar manufacturing, even tho Tesla’s filings did not disclose the anticipated output of the new solar factory. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 100 gigawatts is about equivalent to 8% of the nation’s total power system capacity.
Electrify your feed! Click here to join our Whatsapp group and to get the latest updates, expert insights, and innovations driving India’s energy storage revolution.
