South Korean solar panel manufacturer, Q CELLS, recently celebrated a monumental milestone last month. The company opened their fourth solar factory in *drum roll please* the United States, it’s fourth largest market. The new facility in Dalton, Georgia, is officially the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere.
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Q CELLS is known for its high-quality photovoltaic solar cells and modules. The company currently operates in South Korea, Malaysia, and now Dalton, Georgia, the “Carpet Capital” of the United States. The company officially opened its doors on Friday, September 20 and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In attendance were Q CELLS company leaders including CEO Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a representative from President Trump’s Commerce Department (Assistant Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler), as well as local officials.
A 1.7 GW Factory
Q CELLS invested $200 million into the new facility, the largest solar manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere. With a 300,000 square feet facility and over 600 employees, the factory aims to produce 12,000 solar panels every day until the end of 2019. Its expected annual module production is at a capacity of 1.7 GW. Talks of the new facility in Georgia sparked last spring, just four short months after the announcement of the 30% tariff on all foreign produced solar modules.
“The announcement signifies our dedication to the U.S. market and the fulfillment of our promise to provide high-quality solar modules assembled in America, while leaving a positive impact on our economy of Georgia.”
– Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim, CEO of Q CELLS & Advanced Materials
Growth in the U.S. Market
Kim is dedicated to increasing the “strength of American solar manufacturing in Georgia, for the benefit of our customers around the country.” As mentioned above, the factory is well on its way to growing the solar industry with its 650 people workforce as it aims to produce 12,000 solar panels every day in its new 300,000 sq. feet factory. These numbers indicate Kim’s vision of contributing to a “cleaner, sustainable future for the planet” as it works towards growing the U.S. solar industry by growing the market’s demand and lowering costs, all while making photovoltaic solar more attractive to the U.S. market.
Many tech giants are setting great examples as proponents of renewable energy. Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook are just one of the many tech giants leading the way. Among the list, Facebook recently committed to 100% renewable energy at its new data center in Newton County, Georgia. Walton Electric Membership Corporation, a consumer-owned utility, will be providing the power for Facebook’s data center. One of the developers, Silicon Ranch Project will be building the solar plants and installing solar modules from Q CELLS’ new facility just less than 200 miles northwest of the new data center.
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Cover image source: Q CELLS
