The climate and tax bill signed by President Biden in August, aimed at increasing the use of clean energy and electric vehicles while boosting domestic manufacturing, appears to be working.
Korean solar company Hanwha Qcell announced Wednesday that it will invest $2.5 billion to build a massive manufacturing complex in Georgia. The facility will manufacture critical components for solar panels and assemble complete panels. If it comes to fruition, the company's plans could move part of its mainly China-based solar power supply chain to the United States.
Seoul-based Qcells said it is investing to take advantage of tax breaks and other benefits from the inflation control law Biden signed into law last summer. The plant is expected to create 2,500 jobs in Cartersville, Georgia, about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta. Production is scheduled to start in 2024.
The company opened its first solar panel manufacturing plant in Georgia in 2019 and quickly became one of the largest manufacturers in the US, producing 12,000 panels per day by the end of last year. The company said its new facility will increase production to 60,000 panels per day.
"As the demand for clean energy continues to grow across the country, we stand ready to engage thousands of people in developing solar solutions that are 100% sustainable and made in America, from raw materials to finished panels," he said. General Justin Lee. the managing director of Qcells, in a press release. expression
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp are aggressively pushing the state toward auto, battery and renewable energy companies. Some of that investment is coming from South Korea, including Hyundai's proposed electric car factory.
"With a strong focus on innovation and technology, Georgia continues to be the #1 state for business," Kemp said in a statement.
In 2021, Ossoff introduced the Solar Power for America Act, which would provide tax incentives for solar power producers. Subsequently, the bill was incorporated into the Anti-Inflationary Law.
By law, companies receive tax credits at each stage of the supply chain. The legislation provides nearly $30 billion in manufacturing tax credits to boost manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and key mineral processing. The law grants an investment tax credit to companies that build factories to make electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.
These and other regulations aim to reduce dependence on China, which dominates the supply chain for raw materials and critical components for batteries and solar panels. Along with fears that the US is losing ground in key technologies, lawmakers also worry that some Chinese manufacturers could use forced labor.
“I crafted and passed legislation specifically aimed at attracting this type of manufacturing,” Ossoff said in an interview. “The largest solar production in the history of the United States is coming to Georgia. This economic and geostrategic competition will continue, but my legislation has set the United States back in the fight to secure our energy independence.
Lawmakers and administrations from both parties have long sought to stimulate the domestic solar industry, including imposing tariffs and other restrictions on imported solar panels. However, so far, these efforts have yielded modest results. Most of the solar panels installed in the United States are imported.
The Qcells project and others could reduce reliance on US imports, but not quickly. China and other Asian countries have a significant advantage in panel assembly and component parts manufacturing. Governments have also used subsidies, energy policies, trade agreements, and other strategies to help domestic producers.
While the deflationary legislation spurred new investment, it created tensions between the Biden administration and allies such as France and South Korea.
Mike Carr, executive director of the Solar Coalition for America, said he expects more companies to announce plans to build new US solar manufacturing facilities in the first six months of this year. Between 2030 and 2040, his group estimates that American factories will be able to meet all of the country's demand for solar panels.
"We see this as a very, very large cost reduction factor in the US in the medium to long term," Carr said, referring to panel costs.
In recent months, several other solar companies have announced new manufacturing facilities in the US, including CubicPV, a Bill Gates-backed start-up that plans to start manufacturing solar panel components in 2025.
Another company, First Solar, said in August that it would build a fourth panel plant in the United States. First Solar plans to invest $1.2 billion to expand its operations and create 1,000 jobs.
