Korean firm plans $2.5B in new solar panel plants in Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — A South Korean solar panel maker said Wednesday that it will invest more than $2.5 billion to build factories in Georgia in what it says is the largest solar investment in American history.

Qcells, a unit of Hanwha Solutions, projects it will supply about 30% of total U.S. solar panel demand by 2027, including making solar panel components usually manufactured outside the United States.

“As demand for clean energy continues to grow nationally, we’re ready to put thousands of people to work creating fully American made and sustainable solar solutions, from raw material to finished panels,” Qcells CEO Justin Lee said in a statement.

President Joe Biden described the announcement as “a win for workers, consumers, and our climate,” with the Democrat saying in a statement that it would provide good jobs, reduce American reliance on other countries for solar components, lower the cost of solar panels and help lower carbon emissions.

A new $2.31 billion plant in Cartersville, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, will hire 2,000 workers and fulfill one of the aims of the climate change and health care law that Biden signed in August.

The law included provisions from Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, allowing companies to claim tax credits for making solar panel parts.

The Cartersville plant will make silicon ingots and wafers and solar cells — key ingredients in a solar panel. The company will use polysilicon made at an REC Silicon plant in Moses Lake, Washington. Hanwha last year bought 21% of REC, whose shares are listed in Norway. The company also signed a deal seeking silicon metal from a Ferroglobe refinery in Alloy, West Virginia.

Brian Deese, director of Biden's National Economic Council, said such...