Qcells to Build Solar Supply Chain in the US with $2.5 Billion Investment

The company aims to achieve 8.4 GW panel making capacity by 2024

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Solar cell and module manufacturer Qcells said it will invest over $2.5 billion to build a complete solar supply chain in the U.S.

The Seoul-headquartered company will launch a new production facility in Cartersville, Georgia with a 3.3 GW annual manufacturing capacity of solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels, respectively.

The facility is scheduled to begin commercial production in late 2024.

The company will also assemble another 2 GW of solar panels at its Dalton, Georgia facility, which it claims is the largest solar panel-making plant in the Western Hemisphere.

Deemed to be one of the largest investments in the American solar sector, Qcells targets to achieve the total solar panel production capacity in Georgia to reach 8.4 GW by 2024.

The investments will be made across the complete solar value chain and align with the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act and the Inflation Reduction Act passed last August.

The investment will drive the domestic solar manufacturing expansion amidst the country’s push for Made-in-America clean energy solutions. “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 CEO of Qcells Justin Lee.

The investment will also enable Qcell to hire an additional 510 people for its Dalton facility, taking the total of employed individuals in Georgia to 4,000, and an accumulated investment in the state by the company will total $2.8 billion. The company launched its first manufacturing facility in Georgia in 2019 employing 750 individuals to produce 1.7 GW of solar equipment.

Qcells topped the U.S. residential solar module market from 2018 to 2022 and has been the leading module provider for the U.S. commercial sector since 2019, according to the Q4 2022 U.S. PV Leaderboard report from Wood Mackenzie as of the third quarter of 2022.

Earlier this month, the subsidiary of Plenitude— Eni New Energy US, acquired an 81 MW Kellam PV solar project in Texas from Hanwha Qcells.

Last December, Acciona Energia acquired the 190 MW/ 380 MWh Texas-based battery energy storage system facility from Qcells.

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