PopularMechanics.com: Elon Musk gets more press for being the head of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, but in addition to overhauling the car and launch businesses, he's trying to revolutionize solar energy, too. Now Musk's solar company SolarCity wants to build a gigantic solar panel manufacturing plant in New York intended to build enough plans to meet what he hopes will be rapidly rising demand.
Just yesterday, SolarCity officially acquired solar panel manufacturing company Silevo. Using panels that incorporate Silevo's photovoltaic tech, Musk says his firm expects to install 10 gigawatts of solar per year. By building such a big production plant near Buffalo, the founders of SolarCity hope not only to create competitive made-in-the-USA panels, but also to bring the cost solar technology price down and avoid any possible future tariffs on imported panels.
Musk is no stranger to ambitious manufacturing projects. Tesla is currently finalizing plans for a "gigafactory" to build stacks of batteries for its EVs, and that factory might be the first of many.
