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Clean energy solutions provider Hanwha Qcells USA Corp. has completed the expansion of its Dalton, Georgia factory, adding two gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity to bring the facility’s output to over 5.1 GW.
The Qcells Dalton factory is the largest manufacturing plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the first solar panel plant expansion since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the company said in a press release. This addition marks the first phase of Qcells’ historic $2.5 billion investment announced in January 2023, Qcells said.
The completed Dalton expansion created 510 additional solar factory jobs and will also assemble two new solar products: the Q.TRON G2 residential solar panel and a bifacial panel for the commercial and utility markets, Qcells said. The Dalton factory will manufacture nearly 30,000 solar panels per day, according to the company.
Beyond Dalton, the investment includes the development of a fully-integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia. The Cartersville factory will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished panels, Qcells said.
By 2024, between the Dalton and Cartersville facilities, Qcells anticipates its solar production capacity to reach 8.4 GW a year, enough to power 1.3 million homes annually with clean energy.
“Completing this factory marks the third expansion we’ve made in Dalton, and it’s just the beginning of Qcells’ larger mission to build a fully integrated solar supply chain in America,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells. “The Inflation Reduction Act and the efforts of Georgia’s economic development team helped make these ambitious plans possible, and with it thousands of careers in clean energy. As we build new solar technology from Dalton and prepare for the start of Cartersville, it is critical that our local to federal leaders continue to work not only with us, but the larger industry to ensure our collective investments deliver for communities for decades to come.”
Qcells opened its first factory in Georgia in 2019 and hired 750 people to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. This initial investment was made possible in part by the Section 201 tariffs imposed on solar cells. As the nation’s demand for solar grew, so did Qcells investment in its Dalton facility. Last year, Qcells announced a plan to add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output and hire 535 more people.
This now completed third expansion, as well as Qcells investments across the full solar value chain, follow the passage of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act within the IRA, the company said.
The Dalton factory expansion and the current development in Cartersville aim to accelerate the United States’ shift toward renewable energy. Upon the completion of construction, Qcells’ production in Georgia could avoid more than 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year while expanding domestic manufacturing of solar products amid the push for made-in-America clean energy solutions.
To contact the author, email andreson.n.paul@gmail.com
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