Qcells said it plans to invest more than $2.5 billion to build what it said would be a complete silicon-based solar supply chain in the United States.
The Korea-based company said it plans to break ground in Georgia during the first quarter on a facility to manufacture 3.3 GW of solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
The company said it also plans to assemble an additional 2 GW of solar panels at its Dalton, Georgia facility. The investment is expected to bring Qcells’ total solar panel production capacity in Georgia to 8.4 GW by 2024.
QCells’ parent company, Hanwha, recently became the leading shareholder in polysilicon producer REC Silicon. It said efforts are underway to manufacture polysilicon at the Norway-headquartered company’s factory in Moses Lake, Washington. That facility is slated to restart production in the second half of 2023.
QCells uses passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technology, which allows for the passivation of the solar cell’s rear side by installing a reflective layer designed to direct sunlight back into the cell where it can be converted into electricity.
The company opened its first factory in Georgia to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. In 2022, it announced plans to add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output.
Qcells said its investments follow passage last fall of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act within the Inflation Reduction Act.
“This new investment on the federal level is critical to providing certainty for investors to go bold on clean energy,” the company said in a statement.
The investments are planned to occur at two sites with a greenfield expansion encompassing ingots, wafers, cells, and more modules. The site is in Cartersville, about 55 miles outside of Atlanta.
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