Panasonic to Invest in Tesla Solar Panel Factory

Panasonic Corp. says it will invest more than 30 billion yen ($255 million) to build a solar panel plant in Buffalo, N.Y., that will be operated by Tesla Motors Inc.’s recently acquired SolarCity unit. The companies announced the plan in October.

The Buffalo plant will begin making solar glass roof tiles next summer. The 1.2 million-sq-ft facility will have capacity to make 10,000 solar panels per day—the equivalent of 1 gigawatt of generating capacity—by 2019.

The roof systems are designed for use in conjunction with Tesla’s Powerwall and Powerpack battery backup modules for homes and small businesses. Tesla unveiled those products 20 months ago.

Panasonic also will help develop next-generation cell technology for SolarCity’s solar panel factory in Fremont, Calif. The two companies also are collaborating on battery cell production at Tesla’s Gigafactory outside Reno. Nev.