Tesla’s Nevada Holdings

Today, this will be followed by an interesting article that explores political jockeying that clouds a cohesive, national commitment to clean energy.  Why would anyone get in the way of the growth of the new economy including, as seen here, Tesla's rapid expansion and job creation.

There should be, ideally, no fighting in the sustainable, brighter/cleaner future sandbox.  Why waste any time migrating away from a fossil-fuel based economy?  Let's pour clean fuel on this new industrial revolution.  We are blessed today, as we sit here on August 3, 2015, with amazing technology, science, engineering, will of change.  Politics can dirty other waters.  Not the current of transformation.

Tesla’s Nevada Holdings Nearly Triples

Auto maker’s purchases add to area designated for ‘gigafactory’ construction

by Mike Ramsey

Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA 0.92 % has nearly tripled its land holdings in Nevada in recent months, purchasing nearly 2,000 additional acres near Reno as it continues work on a factory intended to build batteries for electric cars and stationary backup batteries.

Tesla originally purchased 1,000 acres in 2014, when it struck a deal to locate outside Reno in nearby Storey County. But that agreement included options to purchase additional land in a region with relatively little in the way of manufacturing activities.

The land purchases, occurring in April and May, happened during a period when Tesla’s finances already are strained by retooling its assembly plant in California for a new product, building fast-charging stations globally and constructing the battery plant.

Tesla recently received credit lines that could go up to $750 million to buoy its operations. The money is needed as the Silicon Valley electric car maker develops a cheaper lineup of electric cars for release later in the decade.

The majority of the land—1,863 acres—is buffer land, on which Tesla won’t build structures but could place solar arrays to provide power to the plant, a spokeswoman said. The remaining 110 acres is for industrial purposes, though Tesla says it hasn’t planned to expand beyond its original footprint yet.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk earlier this year said the initial demand for the company’s stationary storage batteries was so high that Tesla might have to consider expanding its already ambitious plans for the battery factory.  
                  

The $5 billion plant—named the “gigafactory” by Chief Executive Elon Musk—is an important cog in Tesla’s plans to build 500,000 electric cars and lower the cost of its batteries by 30% or more. About 25% of the capacity of the plant may be used for Tesla’s stationary storage business, which is now selling backup batteries for homes, businesses and utilities.

Mr. Musk said in May that initial demand for the stationary storage batteries was so high that the company might have to consider expanding its already ambitious plans for the battery factory.

The battery factory is being built in phases. Currently, the steel structure and roof of the initial building is finished.

The battery factory will begin producing cells at the end of 2016. It will be expanded through 2020 to add capacity, eventually taking up 10 million square feet and producing up to 50 gigawatt-hours of battery packs annually. The single plant in Nevada will be able to produce more batteries than all the existing plants in the world today combined.

The nearly 3,000-acre site takes up about 2% of Storey County’s land area and dwarfs most factory locations. The Tesla spokeswoman says the company has options to purchase several thousand more acres as well.

Tesla received incentives that could be worth up to $1.3 billion from the state of Nevada for the factory, which will employ up to 6,500 people when finished.

Pat Whitten, the Storey County administrator, said the factory announcement has been followed by a rush of developments by other companies, including those connected to Tesla.

Panasonic Corp. PCRFY -1.11 % , Tesla’s primary partner in the battery factory, is bringing up to 15 additional companies to provide components, according to a presentation by Storey County building and community development director Dean Haymore.