[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="218"] “It’s an incredible opportunity. ... I want to make sure we enable the local suppliers to the best of our ability.” ­ Vinayak Gupta, SolarCity’s vice president of supply chain[/caption]

With SolarCity’s sprawling solar panel factory rapidly taking shape, Bill Joseph couldn’t help but wonder: When will SolarCity ramp up its efforts to build a local supplier base for its Buffalo factory, and how can local companies try to get a piece of the action?

Joseph, the general manager of American Stainless Corp.’s Buffalo plant, was able to put that question directly to the SolarCity’s top supply chain executive on Thursday .

The answer: The process is starting now, and it’s going to accelerate through the rest of this year.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Vinayak Gupta, SolarCity’s vice president of supply chain.

On Thursday , SolarCity took the first step to tap into local businesses as it builds its supplier base for its Buffalo plant, which will churn out 10,000 solar panels a day when it’s running at full speed, likely in early 2017. READ MORE

By David Robinson | News Business Reporter on June 18, 2015 - 12:25 PM, updated June 18, 2015 at 9:03 PM