Hanwha Q CELLS to Invest 2.4 Trillion KRW in New Solar Panel Factory in the U.S.

Texas Dallas County and Others Considered
Targeting Commercial Operation in 2025

Hanwha Q CELLS, the solar division of Hanwha Solutions, is planning to invest approximately 2.4 trillion KRW to build an additional solar panel factory in the United States.

According to the 'Chapter 313' application recently submitted by Hanwha Q CELLS to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on the 16th, the company is pushing forward with establishing a factory in Dallas County, Texas, to produce solar panels, ingots, wafers, and cells. The total investment for this new factory is estimated at $1.829 billion (approximately 2.3967 trillion KRW). Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2024. Afterward, trial production will start, aiming for commercial operation from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Chapter 313 is a representative industrial incentive policy in Texas. It provides a 10-year property tax exemption to companies that invest above a certain scale and create jobs, but it is scheduled to be discontinued by the end of this year. Hanwha Q CELLS appears to have submitted this business plan to receive incentives before the expiration of the Chapter 313 policy.

A Hanwha Q CELLS official stated, "The investment is not yet finalized, but it is true that we are reviewing it," adding, "We are considering several sites including Texas and are in the stage of reviewing factory establishment." Hanwha Q CELLS is also negotiating with states such as Georgia and South Carolina.

The construction of Hanwha Q CELLS’ factory in the U.S. was anticipated. This is because the U.S. Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which focuses on large-scale domestic investments to address climate change, providing enormous tax benefits. The IRA allocates $60 billion (approximately 78 trillion KRW) to support manufacturers and processors of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. The benefit period for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which was scheduled to end next year, has been extended by 10 years until 2034, and the applicable tax rate will increase from the existing 26% to 30% until 2032.

Renewable energy investment in the U.S. is growing explosively. According to the 'U.S. Renewable Energy Market and Energy Transition Trends' report released last year by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the share of renewable energy generation in the U.S. is expected to expand to 42% by 2050, with solar power accounting for 47% of the total renewable energy generation. Investments by related companies are also continuing, and renewable energy industry investment is expected to exceed $39 billion (approximately 51.0822 trillion KRW) this year. According to research from Princeton University, new solar installation capacity in the U.S. is projected to increase from 10 GW annually in 2020 to 49 GW in 2024.

Hanwha Q CELLS currently operates a solar module factory in Georgia with an annual capacity of 1.7 GW, accounting for 27% of total module production in the U.S. In May, the company announced plans to invest about 200 billion KRW to increase module production capacity in Georgia by 1.4 GW.