Solar panel maker Qcells is getting a boost at its plant project in Cartersville, Ga., with a $1.45 million conditional loan guarantee commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Loan Programs US, officials announced on August 8.
Qcells plans to produce “the complete solar supply chain” of ingots, wafers, cells and finished solar panels at the plant. The 3.3 GW capacity facility would be the largest ingot and wafer plant in the United States and the first integrated silicon-based solar manufacturing site built domestically in more than a decade, according to the agency.
“We have made such ambitious investments because we believe that onshoring solar manufacturing is key to building a sustainable, secure and independent energy future in the US,” Qcells said in a statement.
Gray Construction, Lexington, Ky., is the lead design-build contractor on the project, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year, according to Qcells, which has another Gray-built plant that opened in 2019 to the north in Dalton , Ga. The contractor also led an expansion project for this plant, which it completed last year to expand its capacity to 5.1 GW.
The new plant would produce larger wafers that lower costs and increase performance for utility-scale solar projects. Qcells says it is investing a total of $2.5 billion in the Cartersville project and the Dalton expansion.
The manufacturer has already signed an eight-year, 12GW solar and EPC deal with Microsoft to make panels at the Cartersville plant.
The project will benefit from an Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 aimed at helping solar developers get credits for using products made in the United States, according to DOE. Manufacturers have announced plans to add more than 325 GW of capacity since lawmakers passed the law.
The agency’s program aims to help US manufacturing land or relocate in key sectors. Last month, it offered a similar $1.2 billion commitment to Entek for its electric vehicle battery component plant project in Terre Haute, Indiana.
