Qcells confirms location of solar panel manufacturing expansion in the US

Qcells announced that its new solar panel manufacturing facility will be located in Dalton, Georgia near where the company already operates a 1.7 GW module factory. Expected to come online as early as the first half of 2023, Qcells’ total production capacity in the United States will exceed 3 GW, or approximately one-third of the current US solar module production capacity.

“Our additional investment in Dalton will help Qcells better serve the needs of U.S. customers with increased local manufacturing capacity,” said Justin Lee, Qcells CEO. “Georgia has become the clean energy manufacturing heart of America, and we are proud to contribute to the state’s advanced manufacturing economy.”

The new facility will produce 1.4 GW of TOPCon solar modules per year, a high-efficiency tunnel oxide passivated contact technology.

“We are excited to see Qcells continue to expand in Georgia. The state of Georgia and Korea have enjoyed an outstanding partnership for decades, supported by a dedication to relationship building. We have been focused on bringing jobs and opportunities to hardworking Georgians across the state,” said Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia.

Qcells’ expansion in Dalton is expected to bring 470 new jobs to Whitfield County, and with more than 750 staff employed at the existing factory, total local employees will exceed 1,000 when the expansion is complete. Groundbreaking is planned for fall 2022.

“I appreciate Qcells’ sustained and growing investment in Georgia and the working relationship we’ve built to create more jobs and opportunities for Georgians. I will continue working to make Georgia a world leader in renewable energy innovation and manufacturing,” said Senator Jon Ossoff.

In March, Hanwha Solutions, parent corporation of Qcells, announced that it was stepping up efforts to supply customers with “Made-in-America” products when it became the largest shareholder of REC Silicon, a major US manufacturer of polysilicon. Following its initial $160 million acquisition to acquire a 16.67% stake in REC Silicon in January 2022, Hanwha announced that it was acquiring an additional 4.67% stake from Aker Horizons in a deal valued at around $44 million. This investment will help American manufacturers secure the raw material critical to the solar supply chain.

Hanwha’s US initiative supports the Biden administration’s efforts to increase solar power generation by 40% and to decarbonize all electricity by 2035. Hanwha sees the enactment of the Solar Energy Manufacturing Act (SEMA) as critical to a US-based solar supply chain. While Hanwha had stated that it would “…implement a multi-phase, multi-billion-dollar expansion across the full solar energy supply chain” once SEMA was passed, the expansion has begun.

This article was amended on 5/27/22 to indicate that groundbreaking will take place in fall 2022 rather than 2023.