Construction on the proposed facility will be carried out in a two-phased approach.
The development will allow the company to initially create close to 600 new, full-time jobs over the next five years, with plans to eventually create more than 1,000 new jobs.
As part of the multi-phase project, the company will initially build a 250MW facility.
Phase I construction on the facility will begin by Q2 of 2016 and it is scheduled for completion in 2017.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said: "This $700m investment is an enormous vote of confidence in the Upstate economy and sends the message that there is opportunity in every corner of this state.
"Today’s announcement is an example of how we are combining this region’s natural strengths with our vision to develop New York’s entrepreneurial future and make the Empire State a true leader in developing the clean energy technologies of tomorrow. I am proud to continue building on Upstate’s economic resurgence and I am pleased to have 1366 helping us lead the way forward."
The project is also being backed by an incentive package of up to $56.3m from the state government, in addition to 8.5MW of low-cost hydropower.
Based in Massachusetts, 1366 Technologies develops and manufactures high performance silicon wafers, the building block of solar cells and the most expensive component of a solar panel.
1366 Technologies claims that its Direct Wafer technology transforms how the wafers are made and replaces a decades-old, expensive and wasteful manufacturing process with one elegant step.
The company’s technology reduces the cost of a wafer by 50% and manufacturers a replacement for conventional wafers.
Image: 1366 Technologies develops and manufactures high performance silicon wafers. Photo: courtesy of governor.ny.gov.
