IndustryWeek: Qcells to invest $2.5B to expand Solar Panel production in Georgia
Anna Smith, IndustryWeek (Endeavor Business Media sister publication to EnergyTech)
Striving to bring total solar panel production capacity in Georgia to 8.4-gigawatts by 2024, Qcells will invest more than $2.5 billion to establish a fully integrated, silicon-based solar supply chain, according to an announcement made by South Korea's Hanwha Solutions, Qcells’ parent company.
Qcells will add a new facility in Cartersville, Georgia, and it will also expand an existing site in Dalton, Georgia by building a third module manufacturing facility. The new facility will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished panels, while the Dalton facility will assemble an additional 2 GW of solar panels.
Bringing 2,500 jobs to the state, “we are announcing the largest clean energy manufacturing project in American history, with thousands of solar jobs and billions of dollars on the way to Georgia,” said U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia.
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Opening its first factory in Georgia in 2019, Qcells has continued to invest in its Dalton facility; Earlier in 2022, Qcells began construction to increase the 1.7 GW module factory to 3.1 GW. Now, it aims to grow to a total of 5.1 GW at that facility.
With commercial production aiming to start at the new site in late 2024, it looks to have 3.3 GW annual manufacturing capacity per value chain.
“As demand for clean energy continues to grow nationally, we’re ready to put thousands of people to work creating fully American Made and sustainable solar solutions, from raw material to finished panels,” said Qcells CEO Justin Lee.
The largest investment in American solar history “will create thousands of good-paying jobs in Georgia, many of which won’t require a four-year degree. It will bring back our supply chains so we aren’t reliant on other countries, lower the cost of clean energy, and help us combat the climate crisis. And, it will ensure that we manufacture cutting-edge, solar technology here at home. It’s a win for workers, consumers, and our climate,” said President Joe Biden in a statement.
