\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/a>\r\nSolarCity’s planned factory in South Buffalo — and the 3,000\r\njobs that come with it — packs a powerful economic punch.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nTo be built on the former Republic Steel plant site in South\r\nBuffalo, the factory is expected to bring more new jobs to the\r\nregion than the steel maker ever had in its heyday.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nWith the ability to make enough solar panels to generate more than\r\n1,000 megawatts of electricity, the factory would be the biggest\r\nsolar panel factory in the Western Hemisphere and one of the biggest\r\nin the world. It would be three times bigger than any other solar\r\npanel factory in the United States, and could be in open by early\r\n2016, with full production a year later.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nAnd the announcement that the factory would bring 3,000 jobs to the\r\nregion is the single-biggest employment announcement in the Buffalo\r\nNiagara region in decades, topping the 2,500 new jobs that GEICO\r\npromised to bring to its Amherst customer service center.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\nAnd the state’s investment of $750 million is more than three times\r\nlarger than the $225 million originally planned.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n“It’s a historic day for Buffalo,” said Howard Zemsky,\r\nthe co-chairman of the Western New York Regional Development\r\nCouncil. “It’s about next-generation industries. It’s about\r\nnext-generation jobs.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
\r\nAnd it’s not just jobs at the factory itself:\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/a>\r\nMore than 1,450 of the jobs will be manufacturing jobs within the\r\nplant. The plant also is expected to lead to the creation of more\r\nthan 1,400 jobs for workers providing support and services for the\r\nfactory, state officials said. SolarCity also is expected to create\r\nmore than 2,000 jobs across the state for workers selling and\r\ninstalling solar energy systems and providing other services.\r\n<\/p>\r\n
\r\n“This is the biggest accomplishment to date — and it’s\r\nbigger than anything we could have imagined,” said Gov. Andrew\r\nM. Cuomo.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
\r\n
<\/a>\r\nMaybe we should imagine better here.\r\nActually,\r\n\r\nJerome Tucker did<\/a>,\r\nwhen MAGE SOLAR came to Lowndes High School 29 March 2011.\r\nMaybe we should listen to him.\r\n
\r\nWIVB.com News 4 wrote 23 September 2014,\r\n\r\nSolarCity investing $5B in Buffalo, creating 3,000 jobs<\/a>,\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/a>\r\nErie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, “When people think\r\nof Buffalo now, they’re not just going to think of chicken wings,\r\nthe Bills and snow. They’re going to think of the largest production\r\nsite for solar panels in the Western Hemisphere.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
\r\nImagine a Lowndes County Chairman able to say that of the Valdosta MSA.\r\nThose solar panels at Valdosta’s Mud Creek WWTP<\/a> are a good start.\r\nTime to keep going and catch up with Buffalo.\r\n
\r\n\r\n