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Sen. Ossoff Secures 2,500 Solar Manufacturing Jobs in Georgia
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff has secured 2,500 solar manufacturing jobs for Georgia.
On the heels of Sen. Ossoff’s Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act becoming law this summer, Qcells today announced a record $2.5 billion investment in Georgia, which will create 2,500 jobs.
This represents the largest clean energy manufacturing investment in American history.
According to Qcells, this investment would not have been possible without Sen. Ossoff’s solar law.
Please find news coverage from this morning’s historic announcement below, read the Senator’s press release on the historic announcement here, and please feel free to share the Senator’s posts on social media below:
The Washington Post: Sen. Ossoff secures a $2.5 billion solar deal
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) on Wednesday announced that he has secured $2.5 billion for a solar manufacturing facility in Georgia, marking the largest clean energy manufacturing investment ever in the nation’s history.
The investment from Hanwha Qcells, a South Korean company that creates the photovoltaic panels needed to produce solar power, is also set to create 2,500 local jobs, according to a news release. It was made possible by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, which includes a bill from Ossoff, titled the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, that is aimed at boosting domestic solar manufacturing and reducing U.S. dependence on China for the critical materials.
My goal remains to make Georgia the world leader in advanced energy production,” Ossoff said in a statement, adding that “today secured the largest clean energy manufacturing project in American history, with thousands of solar jobs and billions of dollars on the way to Georgia.”
The money will go toward expanding Qcells’s existing solar plant in Dalton, Georgia and building a new one in Cartersville, Georgia — creating the first American solar supply chain.
The New York Times: Korean Solar Company Plans to Build $2.5 Billion Plant in Georgia
In 2021, Mr. Ossoff introduced a bill, the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, that would have provided tax incentives to solar manufacturers. The bill was later incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act.
Under the legislation, businesses receive a tax credit at every stage of the supply chain. The act includes an estimated $30 billion in production tax credits to accelerate manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and for the processing of critical minerals. The law also offers an investment tax credit to companies that build factories that produce electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.
Those and other provisions are intended to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the supply chain for crucial raw materials and components for batteries and solar panels. In addition to the fear that the United States was losing ground in important technologies, lawmakers have also been concerned that some Chinese producers are using forced labor.
“I wrote and passed into law legislation precisely intended to attract this type of manufacturing,” Mr. Ossoff said in an interview. “It’s the largest solar manufacturing in U.S. history coming to Georgia. This economic and geostrategic competition will continue but my law has brought the United States back into the fight to secure our energy independence.”
Capitol Beat Georgia: Korean solar panel manufacturer investing $2.5 billion to expand Georgia operations
A Korean solar panel manufacturing company announced plans Wednesday to expand an existing operation in Dalton and build a new plant in Cartersville.
The commitment of more than $2.5 billion by Hanwha Qcells, the largest-ever single investment in solar manufacturing in the United States, will create 2,500 jobs.
While the federal solar tax credits ultimately were included in the broader Inflation Reduction Act, the original legislation calling for those tax credits was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
“My goal remains to make Georgia the world leader in advanced energy production,” said Ossoff, D-Ga. “That’s why I wrote and passed major legislation to bring more solar manufacturing jobs to our state … with thousands of solar jobs and billions of dollars on the way to Georgia.”
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