Hanwha Qcells is expected to manufacture solar panels and their components in the US to take advantage of President Biden’s climate policy.
A climate and tax bill signed by President Biden in August that aims to expand the use of clean energy and electric vehicles while boosting domestic production appears to be bearing fruit.
South Korean solar company Hanwha Qcells announced on Wednesday that it will spend $2.5 billion to build a massive plant in Georgia. The plant will manufacture key solar cell components and build complete panels. If implemented, the company’s plan could bring part of the solar energy supply chain, primarily in China, to the United States.
Seoul-based Qcells said it invested to take advantage of tax breaks and other benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by Biden last summer. The site is expected to create 2,500 jobs in Cartersville, Georgia, about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta, and at an existing facility in Dalton, Georgia. The new plant is expected to start production 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 solar panels a day by the end of last year. The company said the capacity of the new plant will increase to 60,000 panels per day.
Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells, said: “As the need for clean energy continues to grow across the country, we are ready to engage thousands of people to create sustainable solar solutions, 100% made in America, from raw materials to finished panels.” statement.
Georgia Democratic Senator John Ossoff and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp aggressively courted renewable energy, battery and auto companies in the state. Some investment has come from South Korea, including an electric vehicle plant that Hyundai Motor plans to build.
“Georgia has a strong focus on innovation and technology and continues to be the number one state for business,” Mr. Kemp said in a statement.
In 2021, Ossoff introduced the American Solar Energy Act bill, which would provide tax incentives to solar producers. This law was later incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act.
Under the law, businesses are entitled to tax incentives at every stage of the supply chain. The bill includes roughly $30 billion in manufacturing tax credits to boost the production of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and processing of critical minerals. The law also provides investment tax breaks to companies that build factories to produce electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.
These and other rules are aimed at reducing dependence on China, which dominates the supply chain for key raw materials and components for batteries and solar panels. In addition to fears that the US will lose its advantage in important technologies, lawmakers are concerned about the use of forced labor by some Chinese manufacturers.
“The law that I wrote and passed was designed to attract this type of production,” Ossoff said in an interview. “This is the largest solar cell plant in American history, located in Georgia. This economic and geostrategic competition will continue, but my law re-engages America in the fight to ensure our energy independence.”
Legislators and administrations on both sides have long sought to boost domestic solar production, including by imposing tariffs and other restrictions on imported solar panels. But so far, these efforts have had limited success. Most of the solar panels installed in the US are imported.
In a statement, Biden said the new plant “will restore our supply chains, make us less dependent on other countries, lower the cost of clean energy, and help us fight the climate crisis.” “And it ensures that we produce advanced solar technologies domestically.”
The Qcells project and others could reduce America’s dependence on imports, but not quickly. China and other Asian countries lead the way in panel assembly and component manufacturing. Governments there are also using subsidies, energy policies, trade agreements and other tactics to help domestic producers.
While the Inflation Reduction Act encouraged new investment, it also heightened tensions between the Biden administration and US allies such as France and South Korea.
For example, the law provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 on the purchase of an electric vehicle, but only for vehicles made in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Consumers looking to buy models made by Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia will be disqualified for at least two years before production begins in 2025 at the company’s new plant in Georgia.
However, energy and auto industry executives say the legislation as a whole should benefit their companies, which are struggling to access vital zero dollars at a time when global supply chains are disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s war. in Ukraine.
Mike Carr, chief executive of the Solar Alliance of America, said he expects more companies to announce plans to build new solar manufacturing plants in the United States in the first six months of this year. Between 2030 and 2040, his team estimates that factories in the US will be able to meet all of the country’s demand for solar panels.
“We believe this is a very, very important driver of price declines in the US over the medium to long term,” Mr. Carr said of panel costs.
In recent months, several other solar companies have announced new manufacturing facilities in the US, including Bill Gates-backed startup CubicPV, which plans to begin making solar panel components in 2025.
Another company, First Solar, said in August that it would build a fourth solar panel plant in the US. First Solar plans to invest $1.2 billion to expand operations and create 1,000 jobs.
Ivan Penn is an alternative energy reporter based in Los Angeles. Before joining The New York Times in 2018, he covered utilities and energy for the Tampa Bay Times and the Los Angeles Times. Learn more about Ivan Payne
Post time: Jul-10-2023