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Korean Solar Company Plans to Build $2.5 Billion Plant in Georgia
Hanwha Qcells expects to make solar panels and their components in the United States to take advantage of President Biden’s climate policies.
The climate and tax bill President Biden signed in August to increase the use of green energy and electric cars while expanding domestic manufacturing appears to be yielding some results.
A Korean solar company, Hanwha Qcells, announced on Wednesday that it would spend $2.5 billion to build a large manufacturing complex in Georgia. The plant will produce critical components for solar panels and build complete panels. If realized, the company’s plans could bring some of the supply chain for solar energy, which is largely based in China, to the United States.
Qcells, which has its headquarters in Seoul, said it was making the investment to take advantage of tax credits and other benefits in the Inflation Reduction Act, the law Mr. Biden signed last summer. The manufacturing complex is expected to create 2,500 jobs in Cartersville, Ga., roughly 50 miles northwest of Atlanta, and at an existing plant in Dalton, Ga. Production at the new plant is expected to start in 2024.
The company opened its first solar panel manufacturing plant in Georgia in 2019, quickly becoming one of the largest U.S. producers — by the end of last year, it was cranking out 12,000 panels a day. The company said its new complex would increase its capacity to 60,000 panels a day...
Several other solar companies have announced new U.S. manufacturing plants in recent months, including CubicPV, a start-up backed by Bill Gates that plans to begin production of solar panel components in 2025.
Another company, First Solar, said in August that it would build its fourth panel manufacturing plant in the United States. First Solar plans to invest $1.2 billion to expand its operations and add 1,000 jobs
