DOE backs Qcells with US$1.45 billion loan for Georgia manufacturing hub

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Qcells also operates a 5.1GW module production facility in Dalton, Georgia, as well as a solar encapsulant plant in Bartow County. Image: QCells.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a US$1.45 billion loan to Korean-owned solar manufacturer Hanwha Qcells to support its vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia.

The Loan Programs Office (LPO) of the DOE announced the conditional loan guarantee yesterday, to be delivered through its Title 17 Clean Energy Financing programme which finances energy supply chain projects and investments in existing energy infrastructure.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The 3.3GW nameplate capacity facility will produce silicon ingots, wafers, cells and modules in what will be the largest vertically integrated solar manufacturing hub in the US. Qcells first announced the Cartersville facility in January 2023, saying the site would represent an overall US$2.5 billion in investment.

The DOE said :“Qcells will make larger-format wafer sizes that lower costs and increase product performance” at the site.

Qcells also operates a 5.1GW module production facility in Dalton, Georgia, as well as a solar encapsulant plant in Bartow County.

In an official statement, the DOE said that the Cartersville facility will benefit from the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Credit and enable customers to access the Investment Tax Credit’s domestic content bonus, both included under the government’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The role of solar wafers and ingots in the domestic content bonus has been a bone of contention in the US industry recently. A number of companies, led by the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) coalition – a representative trade body – have called for amendments to the scheme to include solar wafers in its calculations.

The domestic content bonus requires that 40% of a product’s components (based on cost) are “US-made”, a threshold which will rise to 55% next year. SEMA called for the US Treasury to “recognize the individual value” of components of the supply chain in a move which would incentivise investments in domestic wafer manufacturing capacity.

As discussed in a PV Tech Premium feature earlier this year, Qcells’ Cartersville facility is one of the only reliable wafer manufacturing plants announced in the US. The majority of manufacturing plans that have been announced since the IRA passed have been for module production.

In January, Qcells inked a 12GW multi-year module supply deal with technology giant Microsoft. This is one of the largest long-term supply agreements in the US solar industry.

Recipients of LPO loans are expected to develop and implement a Community Benefits Plan (CBP) which requires engagement with local communities and labour. The DOE said that Qcells intends to engage with the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which requires that 40% of the benefits of federal investments into the energy transition go to what the DOE called “disadvantaged communities that are marginalised by underinvestment.”

In April, Qcells was among a group of US solar supply chain manufacturers which brought an antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petition to the Department of Commerce (DOC), seeking to restrict imports of silicon solar cells from four Southeast Asian countries.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

September 17, 2025
US renewables developer Longroad Energy has reached financial close for its 400MW 1000 Mile solar project in the US state of Texas.
September 17, 2025
Spanish renewables developer and operator Acciona Energía has commissioned its 412MWp Juna solar PV plant in Kawani village in the western state of Rajasthan. 
September 17, 2025
Nexamp has secured US$350 million through a long-term financing facility to expand its 6GW utility-scale solar and battery storage pipeline in the US. 
September 17, 2025
Chinese module producer DAS Solar is planning a 5GW manufacturing facility focused on producing high-efficiency back contact cells.
September 17, 2025
The California State Legislature has passed two bills that aim to reduce energy prices in the state, AB 825 and SB 302.
September 17, 2025
QatarEnergy has signed an EPC agreement with Samsung C&T for its 2GW Dukhan project. 

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA