Qcells

PROJECT SUMMARY

In December 2024, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced the closing of a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Qcells, the largest solar manufacturer of its kind in North America. The loan guarantee will support Qcells’ solar supply chain facility in Cartersville, Georgia, that will produce ingot, wafers, cells, and finished solar panels.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

The Cartersville plant will be the largest ingot and wafer plant ever built in the United States and the first factory in America to produce ingots, wafers, cells, and panels under one roof in at least eight years. It will also be the first vertically integrated silicon-based solar panel manufacturing facility constructed in the United States since 2016. Qcells will make larger-format wafer sizes that lower costs and increase product performance.

ECONOMIC IMPACT 

The project will help build the U.S. solar industry while re-shoring production capacity for solar components that are largely produced in China and Southeast Asia, boosting domestic supply chain resilience, and stabilizing costs for customers and communities across the United States. 

The project is creating approximately 1,200 construction jobs and will support approximately 1,650 specialized operations jobs in Cartersville upon completion.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT 

The project is located near disadvantaged communities with low-income populations and housing, transportation, and health burdens, according to the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. Qcells' new manufacturing plant will benefit residents of Cartersville (located about 40 miles from Atlanta) and other nearby communities.  

Qcells' new manufacturing plant will benefit residents of Cartersville (located about 43 miles from Atlanta) and other nearby communities. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of the construction work has been awarded to local contractors, including contractors from Atlanta, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The construction contractor is also partnering with Kennesaw State University in Georgia to hire recent construction management graduates.  

Qcells Georgia plans to offer job training and apprenticeships to local Cartersville residents who face barriers to employment.

CLIMATE BENEFIT  

The 3.3 GW of solar panels produced per year are expected to contribute to 6,830 GWh of renewable generation per year––enough to supply panels to roughly half a million American households every year.    

As a result, the project will reduce emissions from power generation by more than 5 million tons of CO2e per year.

PROJECT STATISTICS: Qcells 

* Last Updated November 2024. Approximate amount of the loan approved at closing including principal and any capitalized interest. 

** Estimated at the time of closing