Monday, June 23, 2014

Nevada, Texas square off for Tesla battery plant

Jason Hidalgo and Anjeanette Damon, Reno Gazette Journal 

The battle for electric car maker Tesla Motors' multibillion-dollar battery plant is supposed to be a four-way race.

Some site selection experts, however, believe the fight for the Gigafactory likely boils down to one heavyweight and a plucky upstart.

In one corner is San Antonio, a city located in a big state with equally big pockets to invest in economic development.

In the other corner is Reno, which has less than a fifth of San Antonio's population and even fewer resources when it comes to ponying up financial incentives.

"A case can be made for both Arizona and New Mexico … and you have to give them credit," said John Boyd, a principal of Princeton, N.J.-based site selection firm The Boyd Company. "But the two leading contenders are Reno and San Antonio." More here.

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