The country’s largest crystaline silicon solar panel assembler Qcells is building another plant in 2023 in the U.S. Since 2019, Hanwha, the Korean-owned solar company currently has operated a plant in Georgia which assembles solar panels. Next year, they will be making solar panels and their components right here in the USA.
Qcells, which has its headquarters in Seoul, said it was making the investment to take advantage of tax credits and other benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. The manufacturing facility is expected to create 2,500 jobs in Cartersville, Ga., about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta. Production is expected to start in 2024. Currently, they produce about 12,000 panels a day. With its new facility, the company will increase its capacity to 60,000 panels a day.
Lawmakers and administrations from across the political spectrum have long sought to boost the domestic solar manufacturing industry, including by imposing tariffs and other restrictions on imported solar panels. But such efforts have, so far, achieved only modest results. Most of the solar panels installed in the United States continue to be imported.
The Qcells project and others could reduce U.S. reliance on imports, but not quickly. China and other Asian countries have a huge head start in assembling panels and producing the parts that go into them. Governments there have also used subsidies, energy policy, trade agreements and other tactics to help domestic production.
The climate and tax bill President Biden signed in August to increase the use of green energy and electric cars while expanding domestic manufacturing appears to be yielding some results. The hope is to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the supply chain for crucial raw materials and components for batteries and solar panels. The fears included that the United States was losing ground in important technologies, and concern that some Chinese producers are using forced labor.
True South Solar is proud to offer its customers Qcells panels. They provide an excellent choice for your home solar array. The panels are designed to very high standards and high efficiency. They come with a 25-year energy production warranty and are engineered to last up to 40 years. The all-black faced panels offer a cleaner look than older panels and the efficiency rating is one of the best on the market.
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