Nikola Motor Co. has announced plans to establish a 500-acre, 1 million-square-foot, zero-emission hydrogen-electric semi-truck manufacturing facility headquarters in Buckeye.

The facility will be near the Cactus Road alignment on Sun Valley Parkway and the future Wintersburg Parkway, at the entrance to the new Douglas Ranch/Trillium community by El Dorado Holdings and JDM Partners. The community will house over 300,000 residents. 

Construction of the facility is expected to begin by year's end.

Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck was excited about the opportunities the facility represented for the city. Nikola Motors will bring over $1 billion in capital investment and about 2,000 jobs to the region by 2024.

Buckeye was selected from a pool of 30 site locations in nine states. The process took 12 months. 

Some factors that led to its being chosen include “the state’s pro-business environment, access to engineering schools, an educated workforce, and a geographic location that provides direct access to several major markets,” according to a news release from Nikola Motors officials.