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AP source: Tesla selects Nevada for battery plant

By WTOP Staff

JUSTIN PRITCHARD
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Coming to Nevada’s high desert: A massive, $5 billion factory that will pump out high-tech batteries for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles.

That’s assuming state leaders deliver on the economic incentives they packaged to entice Tesla Motors to Nevada rather than four other states competing for the factory and the economic jolt it promises to bring.

Tesla has chosen an industrial park outside Reno to build its battery “gigafactory,” a person familiar with Tesla’s plans said Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made — that was scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Nevada’s Capitol.

Tesla’s choice of Nevada over California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico takes it a big step closer to mass producing an electric car that costs around $35,000 and can go 200 miles on a single charge.

The new factory will give Tesla an advantage over competitors, mainly General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co., which also are racing to build a relatively affordable electric car with a range that lets people take most daily trips without recharging. Tesla has shown that hundreds of miles of range is possible, but the sales volume and technology aren’t available yet to get the cost below the $70,000 base price of the Model S luxury sedan Tesla sells now.

The gigafactory, with a projected 6,500 jobs and 10 million square feet — equivalent to about 174 football fields — would bring the cost of batteries down by producing them on a huge scale. Tesla wants the factory running by 2017 (when it has promised the new, relatively affordable Model 3) and producing batteries for about 500,000 vehicles annually by 2020.

At present, demand for electric vehicles is small.

Through August, automakers have sold just over 40,000 fully electric cars this year, up 35 percent from a year ago, according to the auto website Edmunds.com. Factoring in plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles still account for just 3.6 percent of all new car sales, a slight drop from last year. Still, government fuel economy standards that will require new cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon are expected to drive sales.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office wouldn’t comment Wednesday on the gigafactory news, saying only that he would make a “major economic development announcement” Thursday. A spokesman for Tesla Motors Inc., based in Palo Alto, California, said company representatives would be at the Capitol in Carson City for the announcement but offered no other details.

Sandoval has declined to discuss incentives he has offered Tesla. Based on CEO Elon Musk’s public statements, the incentives likely total at least $500 million. The governor would have to call a special session of the Legislature to approve tax breaks, grants or other incentives of that magnitude.

Nevada economic development laws allow several incentive programs, including abatements on personal property, sales and business taxes, and sales tax deferrals, according to the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Tesla has done site-preparation work at the Reno Tahoe Industrial Center but had not publicly committed to building in Nevada, instead waiting as other states put together their best packages of economic incentives.

This spring, Musk announced that the company would take the unusual step of spending millions to prepare sites in two states — or perhaps even three — before choosing a winner.

The person familiar with Tesla’s plans told The Associated Press a second site still will be prepared, in case Nevada is unable to deliver the incentives it has promised, or possibly to build a second factory.

Tesla will pay about half of the Nevada factory’s cost. The other major investor is Panasonic Corp., which will manufacture the lithium-ion battery cells and invest in equipment.

Competition for the factory has been intense among the states, which bid up their incentive packages in private negotiations with Tesla.

Some politicians in California, where Musk founded not just Tesla but PayPal and commercial space exploration firm SpaceX, made winning the project a point of pride.

“Tesla was using their business savviness to get states to compete against one another, to try to negotiate the best deal possible. It’s just that I felt California had the inside track given our history of working in partnership with Tesla in California,” Republican state Sen. Ted Gaines said.

He called Tesla’s decision a “clear indictment of our business climate.”

Brook Taylor, a spokesman for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s economic development agency, declined to comment on Tesla’s decision, instead sending a written statement that California will work with businesses, including Tesla, “that want to grow here.”

Nevada beat competing states because it combined several must-haves.

Aside from low tax rates and business-friendly workplace laws, Nevada offers plenty of sun and wind to generate “green” power, and relative proximity to the company’s car manufacturing plant in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The industrial park 15 miles east of Reno also is near a deposit of lithium, an essential element to produce the battery cells.

Lance Gilman, principal and director of the Reno Tahoe Industrial Center, said he had not been told of a final decision.

“It would be the most exciting news of the century to me,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Juliet Williams in Sacramento, California, and AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report. Pritchard reported from Los Angeles; contact him at https://twitter.com/lalanewsman .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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