Times Union: The Buzz: SUNY Poly on track to be center of a universe
Published:
Monday, December 1, 2014 - 08:58
The 1 gigawatt solar panel factory that SUNY Polytechnic Institute is planning to build for SolarCity in Buffalo would be one of the largest — if not the largest — solar factories in the world, capable of supplying enough solar panels each year to power 145,000 homes.
But the agreement between the state and SolarCity — which requires the Silicon Valley company to spend $5 billion in New York state over the next 10 years — is much more ambitious than that.
The contract says that SUNY Poly officials get first crack at building SolarCity a 5 gigawatt solar panel factory that would be able to supply 725,000 homes a year, making the state the undisputed worldwide center of the universe for solar manufacturing and development.
What comes around ...
... goes around, especially in state government.
In 2006, the state planned to build a $99 million data center outside of Utica as a consolation prize for losing out on the GlobalFoundries computer chip factory, which ultimately was built in Saratoga County.
However, after Gov. George Pataki left office, plans to locate the data center in the Utica area changed. State officials eventually decided to put it at SUNY Poly in Albany.
Utica can feel a bit better now, however, because the backup data center for the SUNY Poly facility is being built in Utica.
Times Union: The Buzz: SUNY Poly on track to be center of a universe
November 29, 2014
