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Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the expansion would take place on the site of the current Dalton factory. Qcells clarified that a decision on the final location of the second plant has yet to be announced.
South Korea-based Hanwha Solutions is slated to nearly double production of solar panels in the U.S., investing $170 million to build a new Qcells facility complementing an existing Dalton plant that has created 750 jobs to date.
The move is part of Hanwha’s broader global push got bring on line more solar production at a time when fossil fuel prices are soaring and as imports and installations are being hampered by a U.S. investigation into whether Chinese solar producers are sidestepping tariffs by moving to factories in Southeast Asia.
Hanwha already makes solar modules capable of producing 1.7 gigawatts of electricity in Dalton; the new U.S. expansion would add another 1.4 gigawatts. With more than 3 gigawatts cumulatively in the United States, adding a second Qcells plant would mean the company accounts for one-third of the nation’s solar-module capacity.
Meanwhile, Hanwha is also spending $150 million to increase production back home in Korea, where its overall cell capacity is to exceed 5.4 gigawatts after making what the company calls the first investment in Korean solar capacity in five years. The company is also making moves to solidify its sourcing of polysilicon in the Western Hemisphere to guard against future shocks in global supply chains and comply with U.S. government regulations around sensitive technology. Qcells plans to eventually make both wafers and cells in the U.S. as well.
“Growing uncertainties tell us that securing reliable, sustainable energy has become more important than ever before,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Hanwha Qcells, said in a news release. “To do this, Qcells will increase renewable supply from diversified sources and find cleaner ways to produce energy. That way, we will contribute to both energy security and net-zero emissions.”
The newly built factory is set to come on line “as early as the first half of 2023,” the company said, clarifying that expanding on its existing Dalton site was not a foregone conclusion. The location is to be formally announced in the near future.
Hanwha Qcells has become a darling of the U.S. clean-energy lobby, providing evidence that American solar cell production can thrive, despite protests of some companies, including in Georgia, that Chinese imports have skewed the market.
Qcells has provided the panels for some of Georgia’s burgeoning solar farms, including some powering data centers from West Coast tech companies that are demanding clean-energy sources before committing to massive investments in the state.
South Korean firms continue to make strategically important investments in the U.S. as the security allies shore up their economic partnership, and Georgia has become a preferred beachhead, particularly in the auto industry but also in clean-energy. Hyundai Motor Group is expected to announced this week a new electric-vehicle production plant in the state. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, a Democrat, visited the facility last May ahead of announcing legislation aimed at boosting domestic solar production.