Korean solar panel manufacturer investing $2.5 billion to expand into Northwest Ga.

A Korean solar panel manufacturing company has announced plans to expand an existing operation in Dalton and build a new plant in Cartersville.

The commitment of more than $2.5 billion by Hanwha Qcells, the largest-ever single investment in solar manufacturing in the United States, will create 2,500 jobs.

The project is a direct result of new solar tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act a then-democratic controlled Congress passed last summer, President Joe Biden said in a prepared statement.

“Hanwha’s Qcells investment will create thousands of good-paying jobs in Georgia, many of which won’t require a four-year degree,”

Biden said. “It will bring back our supply chains so we aren’t reliant on other countries, lower the cost of clean energy, and help us combat the climate crisis. And, it will ensure that we manufacture cutting-edge solar technology here at home.”

Hanwha Qcells opened the Dalton plant in 2019, the largest solar manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere, generating 750 jobs. An expansion already in progress will create another 470. The new facilities in Dalton and Cartersville are expected to bring Qcells’ total Georgia workforce to more than 4,000 by the end of next year.

“I am honored to announce the growth of Qcells in Georgia for a second time in less than a year,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “With a focus on innovation and technology, Georgia continues to set itself apart as the No.1 state for business.”

While the federal solar tax credits ultimately were included in the broader Inflation Reduction Act, the original legislation calling for those tax credits was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

“My goal remains to make Georgia the world leader in advanced energy production,” said Ossoff, D-GA. “That’s why I wrote and passed major legislation to bring more solar manufacturing jobs to our state … with thousands of solar jobs and billions of dollars on the way to Georgia.”

Qcells CEO Justin Lee also credited Georgia’s other senator, Democrat Raphael Warnock, for actively supporting the solar tax credits.