Qcells facilty in Dalton, shown in this 2023 file photo, opened in 2019 and has expanded multiple times. It now employs nearly 2,000 people and produces about 5.4 gigawatts of solar panels annually — more than twice the power production of the Hoover Dam.
Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs for Qcells Georgia, describes the company’s operations and expanding footprint in Northwest Georgia to The Rotary Club of Rome Thursday at Coosa Valley Country Club.
A file photo from April 2024 looks at Qcells’ $2.5 billion campus near Cartersville that already is producing solar panels, with much more to come. On May 21, 2026, Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs for Qcells Georgia, said the company’s 2.5-million-square-foot Cartersville facility should be fully operational in about a month, and able to produce nearly every major solar panel component under one roof. Qcells and the U.S. Department of Energy have described the facilty as the first vertically integrated silicon-based solar manufacturing facility built in the United States in years. The plant grows solar ingots, slices wafers, manufactures solar cells and assembles finished modules.
Qcells facilty in Dalton, shown in this 2023 file photo, opened in 2019 and has expanded multiple times. It now employs nearly 2,000 people and produces about 5.4 gigawatts of solar panels annually — more than twice the power production of the Hoover Dam.
Qcells facilty in Dalton, shown in this 2023 file photo, opened in 2019 and has expanded multiple times. It now employs nearly 2,000 people and produces about 5.4 gigawatts of solar panels annually — more than twice the power production of the Hoover Dam.
Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs for Qcells Georgia, describes the company’s operations and expanding footprint in Northwest Georgia to The Rotary Club of Rome Thursday at Coosa Valley Country Club.
A file photo from April 2024 looks at Qcells’ $2.5 billion campus near Cartersville that already is producing solar panels, with much more to come. On May 21, 2026, Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs for Qcells Georgia, said the company’s 2.5-million-square-foot Cartersville facility should be fully operational in about a month, and able to produce nearly every major solar panel component under one roof. Qcells and the U.S. Department of Energy have described the facilty as the first vertically integrated silicon-based solar manufacturing facility built in the United States in years. The plant grows solar ingots, slices wafers, manufactures solar cells and assembles finished modules.
South Korean-based solar manufacturer Qcells is rapidly expanding its footprint in Northwest Georgia, building what company leaders describe as a largely American-based solar manufacturing supply chain centered on Dalton and Cartersville.
Speaking Thursday to The Rotary Club of Rome, Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs for Qcells Georgia, said the company was drawn to the region because of its existing manufacturing base and workforce.
“This region had a tremendous labor force already,” Bell said. “We had a declining carpet business, and so manufacturing was already entrenched. We have a labor pool here, we have logistics pipelines here, we’ve got the talent.”
Qcells, owned by Hanwha Solutions, invested heavily in solar technology after purchasing a struggling German solar firm in 2012. The company says its Georgia operations now represent one of the nation’s largest solar manufacturing investments, with facilities in Dalton and Cartersville expected to support more than 4,000 jobs combined.
Bell said the Dalton plant, which opened in 2019 and has expanded multiple times, employs nearly 2,000 people and produces about 5.4 gigawatts of solar panels annually.
The company’s 2.5 million-square-foot Cartersville facility is designed to produce nearly every major solar panel component under one roof. Qcells and the U.S. Department of Energy have described it as the first vertically integrated silicon-based solar manufacturing facility built in the United States in years. The plant grows solar ingots, slices wafers, manufactures solar cells and assembles finished modules.
“Right now, on the planet, 99% of ingot production is done in China,” Bell said. “We’re bringing not only the manufacturing here, it’s high-tech manufacturing, back to the U.S., but we’re also teaching the U.S. how to do this.”
Bell said the Cartersville plant is expected to produce 3.3 gigawatts of ingots, wafers, cells and finished panels annually. He also highlighted the company’s increasing use of robotics and automation, as well as investment in solar panel recycling through Qcells subsidiary EcoRecycle in Cartersville.
During a question-and-answer session, Bell said the company’s closest domestic competitor is First Solar, though he said no other U.S. manufacturer currently operates a similar “soup-to-nuts” solar production system.
Bell said the company is seeking employees willing to learn specialized manufacturing skills, noting many senior engineers and technical specialists are Korean nationals with decades of industry experience.
“It’s really exciting,” he said.
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