Qcells Starts Solar Cell Production at Largest US Factory

Qcells has begun manufacturing solar cells at its new factory in Cartersville, Georgia. The company already produces solar modules at the site and is building it into a vertically integrated production facility for solar modules.

Qcells adds significant US capacity with full vertical integration. The Cartersville facility will add 3.3 GW of vertically integrated ingot, wafer, cell, and 3.5 GW of module capacity when fully operational. Qcells’ total U.S. output will hit 8.6 GW by the end of Q3 2026, approximately the energy needed to power roughly 1.3 million American homes for a year.

The site is the first and only manufacturing facility in the United States to produce ingot, wafer, cell, and module components of a solar PV module under one roof. This setup allows Qcells to claim tax credits for each part and the finished panel.

Domestic content benefits drive customer demand. Qcells customers will benefit from an easier path to qualifying for the domestic content tax credit and greater supply certainty for their projects. That credit provides 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.

Production ramps quickly toward full scale. The company is already at full module production and can produce 16,700 solar PV modules a day. When full solar cell production is achieved in the fall of this year, Cartersville 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. By Q3 2026, the factory will make 3.3 GW each of ingots, wafers, cells, and 3.5 GW of modules a year.

Georgia operations expand with thousands of new jobs. 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. The Cartersville investment is bringing thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs to Northwest Georgia.

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 continues to expand in the United States.