A report released last week ranks Georgia second among all states for most solar manufacturing, representing 21% of the U.S. market.
The report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie also ranks Georgia fifth nationwide in solar installation, with 1.3 gigawatts of solar capacity this year, which is more than double the amount in 2023.
Georgia is home to three solar manufacturers: Suniva, Qcells, Adion Solar, and soon-to-be-operating SOLARCYCLE, according to Costas Simoglou, director of energy technology for the Georgia Center of Innovation.
U.S. solar cell production resumed in the third quarter of 2024 for the first time since 2019, as silicon cells, the primary material used in solar cell production, resumed manufacturing in the U.S. for the first time since 2019, according to the report. Production shutdown due to competition from China, according to media reports.
Suniva was the first solar cell production facility to come back online since 2019, according to Weinberg.
“The market for U.S. solar manufacturing has been difficult for a long time,” Scott Moskowitz, Qcells vice president of market strategy and industry affairs, said in an email. “There have been five trade cases over the past dozen years aiming to support U.S. manufacturing and protect against low-cost imports from China and Southeast Asia.”
Moskowitz said it was the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022 and an included tax credit that sparked more investment into solar energy.
Qcells is owned by the Korean corporation Hanwha Solutions, and the company made its first investment in Georgia in 2019. Its two factories, one in Cartersville and one in Dalton, both make solar panels. But the factory in Cartersville will soon also make the key components incorporated in the panels too, according to Moskowitz.
By this time next year, Qcells will employ 4,000 people in Georgia and have the most comprehensive footprint of any solar manufacturer in the country, according to Moskowitz.
“Federal solar policies and increased private investments are strengthening our nation’s energy security and creating thousands of new job opportunities for American workers,” said Abigail Ross, SEIA’s president and CEO. “The United States is stepping up to take market share from foreign competitors and making sure that the jobs and economic growth from solar are benefiting American communities.”
Georgia has also attracted SOLARCYCLE, a solar panel recycling company that provides a “critical piece” to the integrated solar supply chain being built in the state, according to Simoglou.
“This investment and the presence of recyclers such as SOLARCYCLE safeguards the industry from potential international supply chain issues and fits into the larger electrification and battery industry in Georgia,” Simoglou said.
Georgia has recognized that its not just important to use clean energy, but also make it, Moskowitz said.
“Georgia’s forward-thinking, collaborative approach to economic development is paying dividends with the growth of the state’s clean tech industry,” Simoglou said. “Going back over a decade to Suniva’s beginnings, Georgia has focused on building out the entire solar energy ecosystem.”
In the last two years, 1.4 million American households have used federal incentives to install solar and lower their energy costs, according to the report.
The U.S. solar industry installed 8.6 GW of new electricity generation capacity in the third quarter of 2024 — from July to September — with 6.6 GW being utility-scale solar projects, according to the report. This is the biggest third quarter ever for the industry.
“Utilities and businesses are driving this growth as they procure significant levels of solar to meet rising demand for electricity,” the report said.
Texas leads the nation, adding 2.4 GW of capacity in the third quarter of the year, which accounts for 26% of all new capacity to come online so far in 2024. Florida has installed the second-most solar capacity in 2024, with nearly 30,000 Florida households installing solar this year, according to the report.
Georgia ranks behind Texas, Florida, California and Nevada in solar installation capacity.
“Our current outlook for the next five years has the U.S. solar industry growing 2% per year on average, reaching a cumulative total of nearly 450 GW by the end of 2029,” said Michelle Davis, head of solar research at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “Demand for solar remains robust, and annual installation forecasts would be higher if not for limitations the industry faces, including those related to interconnection, labor availability, supply constraints and policy.”
Total U.S. solar is projected to be enough to power over 71 million homes by 2029, according to the report.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with the Macon Telegraph.
