By Stephen Lacey | Greentech Meida
In the aftermath of a climate march that brought more than 300,000 people onto the streets of New York City, many are asking whether yet another demonstration, even one so large, was really all that effective.
The politics certainly won’t change on a national level. But New York state is demonstrating that a firm commitment to a climate-focused economic policy — which includes attracting large clean energy technology companies — can certainly change an industry.
SolarCity came to an agreement with New York state on an incentive package that will help the leading residential installer build a solar manufacturing plant capable of producing a gigawatt of panels per year. In June, SolarCity, bought the high-efficiency solar manufacturer Silevo for $200 million, with another $150 million set aside if production targets are achieved, in the hopes of further dominating residential solar through vertical integration.
Related: Desert plan seeks to balance environment, renewable energy
