Over 200 new clean energy jobs coming to Las Vegas due to Biden law

More than 200 new solar jobs are coming to Las Vegas, thanks to a new joint project from clean energy company Nextracker and Unimacts, a provider of industrial manufacturing and supply chain solutions.

A ribbon cutting event took place at the new solar factory at Unimacts in Las Vegas on Sept. 11.

Nextracker, a utility solar tracker that provides technology to help solar collectors optimize and increase energy production, will launch a new solar manufacturing line in Nevada. The company has commissioned more than a dozen new US production lines in the past two years and now, Nevada is next according to a press release from Climate Power. 

Unimacts will produce steel torque tubes used in Nextracker’s solar tracking technology, which enables solar panels to follow the sun’s movement across the sky.

“Unimacts is tripling the size of this facility,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker before the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Tompkins Avenue facility.

The companies are investing $14 million in solar manufacturing to fortify Nevada’s solar energy supply. Over 100 manufacturing jobs are expected to be created by the end of the year, and more next year; overall, more than 200 new jobs will be created as a result of the investment. 

“This is an incredible day,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

“It is not the first time I step on a stage and open a manufacturing facility and it will not be the last. A year ago, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed and that incentivised companies like Nextracker and Unimacts to invest,” she added. “And since the passage of the IRA, there have been 59 announcements of new solar manufacturer affiliates in the United States.”

In total, more than 11,500 new clean energy jobs have been announced in Nevada since the IRA was signed into law, creating opportunities for workers while simultaneously aiding the clean energy transition.

Nevada is home to one of the largest number of new clean energy jobs in communities of color across the country, Latinos are at the forefront. 

“It is about ending our reliance on fossil fuel,” Hopper said. “We are incredibly excited to be a part of this large effort to really bring homegrown, affordable, renewable energy to the United States.”  

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Thousands of clean energy jobs going to Nevada’s Latino communities