SAN ANTONIO —
Here are the differences between San Antonio and other leading sites in Tesla's planned gigafactory: a built-in
In willing and capable Labor, CPS Energy and long term
Long-term commitment to renewable energy and natural resources.
While potential locations in Arizona and Nevada may have more land to choose from, the existing workforce does not fill 6,500 jobs, mainly manufacturing.
San Antonio and Texas can meet that demand.
Tesla's plant will produce lithium.
Ion batteries for vehicles and storage units in homes and businesses.
It takes about 1,000 acres, maybe more, with 10 million square feet of production space.
According to news reports, Nevada has 3,000 acres of land.
The Renault area is close to Tesla's assembly plant in California, where there is a lithium mine.
In Arizona, the discussion focused mainly on a location between Phoenix and Tucson, where the land was abundant and easy access to highways and railways.
Each website has its advantages.
But in these two other places, where are the workers from Washoe County where Renault is located, just a small part of Bexar County.
Every 13,700 American workers in Washoe County have 2012 manufacturing workers. S. Census data.
There are more than 46,000 manufacturing workers in Bexar County.
At the same time, the most watched Arizona site is the dead corner between Phoenix and Tucson, and the manufacturing industry in these two cities is really strong.
But whether workers commute 50 to 60 miles from Citi's truck-making plant proves that the area can meet labor needs.
By the way, Toyota is an investor and partner of Tesla.
But the real game changer in San Antonio is CPS Energy, the largest municipal Energy company in the United States.
The commercial price of CPS Energy is competitive compared to other utilities.
In addition, Tesla officials said they wanted to use renewable energy in the project.
Its gigabit plants include solar and wind energy.
CPS Energy is particularly committed to renewable Energy, which is "clean" by industry standards ".
More than 13% of the energy comes from wind farms.
In 2012, utilities signed an agreement of 400 MW.
Less than 30% of its electricity comes from coal.
CPS Energy will be a strong partner in renewable Energy and could be a test market for Tesla products.
We believe that Tesla's gigafactory will change the rules of the industry.
San Antonio will be a great home.