Hanwha plans $320 million investment plan for solar manufacturing

Hanwha Solutions renewable energy

Hanwha Solutions, a provider of clean energy solutions Qcells, announced $320 million investment plan for solar manufacturing expansion in the United States and Korea.

Hanwha will spend $170 million for building a 1.4-gigawatt solar module production facility in the US. Qcells already operates a 1.7 gigawatt module factory in Dalton, Georgia. The factory is expected to come online as early as the first half of 2023. Qcells’ total production capacity in the U.S. will exceed 3 gigawatt – equivalent to one-third of current US solar module production capacity.

The company also announced its plan to expand cell production capacity in Korea with an investment of $150 million. When the factory expansions are complete next year, overall cell capacity in Korea will be 5.4-gigawatts. It is the first investment in Korean solar cell manufacturing in five years.

Justin Lee, CEO of Hanwha Qcells, said: “Qcells will increase renewable supply from diversified sources and find cleaner ways to produce energy. That way, we will contribute to both energy security and net-zero emissions.”

Hanwha Solutions will secure low-carbon polysilicon from manufacturers around the world. In April, the company agreed with Korean polysilicon manufacturer OCI to receive polysilicon made in factories using carbon-free hydroelectricity. OCI will provide Hanwha with polysilicon for the next 10 years.

Hanwha is the largest shareholder of REC Silicon, the Norway-headquartered polysilicon manufacturer, which operates production facilities in the US. REC Silicon uses hydropower to make solar-grade polysilicon at its production facility in Moses Lake, Washington.

Qcells is working with Samsung Electronics to introduce a smart heating system with the aim of hitting the market in June. Combing Qcells’ solar panels and energy storage system with Samsung’s Eco Heating System, it will lower heating bills for households in Europe.