SolarCity , the top US home solar panel installer, has said that it’s increasing operations in seven states with twenty new operations centers, adding 600 new jobs.
After tripling its new customer base within the last quarter, the company plans on putting the centers in Arizona, California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and New York.
Image Credit: BrokenSphere (CC BY-SA 3.0)
It’s part of SolarCity’s plan to reduce installation costs, and improve customer service, as it strives to dominate the US residential solar installation industry.
Cities where the operational centers will open include: San Francisco, Newark Delaware, Baltimore, North Las Vegas, and a second site on Long Island.
It’s expected all twenty stations will be up and running by the end of this year.
In the last half-year, SolarCity has been going nonstop in its expansion. The company started providing services in Nevada, along with opening up operational centers in Delaware, Hawaii, Long Island New York, and two more in Massachusetts.
But the biggest piece of SolarCity’s recent expansion pie was the purchase of solar panel manufacturer Silevo earlier this summer. This is perhaps the most critical part for its long-term success.
“If we don’t do this, we thought there was a risk of not being able to have the solar panels we need to expand our business in the long-term,” said Elon Musk in a USA Today article about Silevo being a critical aspect of its business plans.
With 1.13 GW of new US solar capacity in the second quarter of 2014, we will surely continue to see SolarCity expand further. Question is: Which is the next region for expansion? The Midwest? Perhaps Minnesota?
The Land of 10,000 Lakes last year announced state-wide solar standards to boost the state solar industry. Add SolarCity having a deal with Best Buy (whose headquarters are located in suburban Minneapolis), via which it is selling solar power in more than sixty stores nationwide, and is it only a matter a time before we see Elon Musk & Co. have a footprint in the state.
Source: SolarCity
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