MAJOR SOLAR PANEL PLANT OPENS IN US AMID BACKDROP OF INDUSTRY WORRIES ABOUT LOW-PRICED ASIAN IMPORTS

A South Korean company has begun production at a huge new solar panel factory in Georgia even as industry leaders say surging Asian imports could dampen efforts to make more solar components in the United States.

Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, said that it can now turn out enough solar panels to generate 5.1 gigawatts of power yearly at a two-factory complex in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton. That’s almost 40% of U.S. solar panel capacity, according to figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Qcells’ opened its first factory in 2019 and an even larger plant in phases since, what the company describes as the largest solar investment in American history.

“It’s another milestone as we as a company really strive to become a global leader and a U.S. leader in solar manufacturing,” said Scott Moskowitz, Qcells head of market strategy and public affairs.

The company says its new plant is the first solar module factory in the U.S. to begin production since passage of President Joe Biden’s signature climate legislation. Qcells’ $208 million investment again shows how federal incentives are spurring a nationwide boom in renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Industry jitters about a flood of cheap solar panels from overseas show how dependent on federal policy the solar industry remains. That’s a threat in part because former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, is hostile to renewable energy.

Qcells leaders say the new plant showcases more efficient equipment and processes, part of a much larger investment intended to bring key steps in solar manufacturing to the U.S. A solar panel, or module, is assembled from solar cells most commonly made from wafers cut from ingots of polysilicon.