Lahman: Solar energy jobs in Buffalo good for us too

Billionaire tech investor Elon Musk is coming to Buffalo, a move that has major implications for all of western New York.

Musk is the majority shareholder in SolarCity, the biggest player in the business of installing residential solar panels. On Tuesday, SolarCity announced that it was buying solar panel maker Silevo, which is preparing to move into the RiverHub clean technology hub in Buffalo.

The $350 million acquisition will enable the construction of one of the world's largest solar panel plants, which Musk says would create more than 1,000 jobs within the next two years. "This will be followed in subsequent years," Musk wrote in a blog post, "by one or more significantly larger plants ... "

The deal is a boon for Buffalo, but more importantly, is another significant step in the ongoing effort to shift the center of the solar industry from Silicon Valley to upstate New York.

Rochester isn't home to a large solar company, but it is home to several smaller ones, which will benefit both directly and indirectly from the arrival of SolarCity.

Among them is Natcore Technology, whose R&D center at Eastman Business Park is focused on making fundamental improvements to solar technology. Their work with black silicon, quantum dot solar cells, and the use of lasers in the manufacturing process is driving the industry to produce less costly solar cells.

Natcore announced last week that it had partnered with companies in Germany and China to help determine how effectively their manufacturing process can scale from the laboratory to full-scale production.

"We've been building a head of steam," said Chuck Provini, president and CEO of Natcore. "We want to capitalize on it. We want to accelerate the delivery of black silicon's benefits — low cost, higher light absorption, higher efficiency — to the marketplace."

Today, it takes government subsidies to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional power. But Provini believes that's going to change soon.

So does Musk. "Without decisive action to lay the groundwork today," he wrote in a post about the Silevo purchase, "the massive volume of affordable, high efficiency panels needed for unsubsidized solar power to outcompete fossil fuel grid power simply will not be there when it is needed."

Musk made his fortune and gained celebrity for investing in forward-looking technologies, like his electric car company Tesla Motors and SpaceX, the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Like SolarCity, they are based on ambitious technologies that are approaching a tipping point toward explosive growth.

A major hub like SolarCity can be a significant partner for Rochester's solar companies. Musk's investment in solar is more than just a vote of confidence. It's a concrete step that will pay dividends for the solar companies in the Rochester area.

Sean Lahman's column appears in print on Sundays. Follow him on Twitter @SeanLahman, or reach him at (585) 258-2369.