Largest Solar Cell Factory In USA Starts Production in Georgia

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Qcells has just begun manufacturing solar cells at its new factory in Cartersville, Georgia, the company announced today. It already produces solar modules there.

The company won’t be producing only solar cells and modules at the factory, though. It is going to be a vertically integrated production facility for solar modules.

“Qcells’ Cartersville facility will add 3.3 GW of vertically integrated ingot, wafer, cell, and 3.5 GW of module capacity when fully operational,” the company writes. “Qcells’ total U.S. output will hit 8.6 GW by the end of the Q3 2026, approximately the energy needed to power roughly 1.3 million American homes for a year.”

If this sounds unusual to you, that’s because it is. The company adds that this is going to be the first (“and only”) manufacturing facility in the United States to produce these various components of a solar PV module (ingot, wafer, cell, and module). “Cartersville will be the first and only U.S. factory to produce the major parts of a solar photovoltaic module under one roof, from ingot to finished panel.” The company can claim tax credits for each of these parts and the panel as a whole.

Remember that the Biden administration got large subsidies in place for producing solar panels as well as solar PV components in the US, and these have actually survived the various Trump administration attacks on pro-cleantech policies. Having all of this production in one spot must make for very competitive products from Qcells.

“Qcells customers will benefit from both an easier path to qualifying for the domestic content tax credit and greater supply certainty for their projects,” the company shares. That’s a 10% domestic content bonus under the Investment Tax Credit. “Because the major components of each module are made domestically, customers can pursue qualifying projects with greater confidence on pricing, supply and sourcing. With demand for fully domestic solar equipment growing, Qcells expects strong interest in Cartersville-produced modules.”

The company is already at full module production at the factory. It is able to produce 16,700 solar PV modules a day there.

When full solar cell production is achieved in the fall of this year, this will be the largest solar cell production facility in the history of the United States. It will also become the biggest ingot and wafer production facility in the country.

“With cells in production, the factory will scale fast: by Q3 2026, Cartersville will make 3.3 GW each of ingots, wafers, cells, and 3.5 GW of modules a year. Together with the expanded Dalton factory, which tripled module capacity to 5.1 GW in late 2023, Qcells’ total module capacity in Georgia will reach 8.6 GW a year, or 47,000 panels a day, approximately the energy needed to power roughly 1.3 million U.S. homes for a year,” Qcells writes. “The Cartersville investment is also bringing thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs to Northwest Georgia. Together with the expanded Dalton campus, Qcells’ Georgia operations are expected to employ nearly 4,000 people — an estimated 3,800 direct jobs across Bartow and Whitfield Counties.”

The solar power industry is alive and well in the United States. Kudos to Qcells for pushing it along.

Also see: “US Clean Energy Can Now Power ~80 Million Homes!“