Vice President Kamala Harris announces major solar power ... - Local 3 News
Vice President Kamala Harris announces major solar power agreement at Qcells in Dalton | Tennessee | local3news.com
Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Chattanooga just before noon Thursday and made her way to Dalton, Georgia, making a historic visit for clean energy.
The Vice President's visit to the Q-cells plant is to show the administration's "Investing In America Agenda" is building a clean energy economy.
I'm traveling to Dalton, Georgia to announce the largest investment in community solar in our nation’s history.— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP)
This historic investment will create good-paying jobs and help families across the country access the benefits of solar, including lower utility bills and cleaner air. April 6, 2023
The giant solar panel manufacturing facility is expected to generate 2,500 job opportunities in Whitfield County.
The announcement by Harris revealed a collaboration between Summit Ridge Energy and QCells to install 1.2 gigawatts of community solar power, benefitting multiple U.S. communities and providing clean electricity to 140,000 homes and businesses.
The Vice President went on to address the history of Dalton, dubbed the "carpet capital of the world", and the impact from the market collapse in the late 2000's, resulting in factories being closed or downsized.
"In the face of incredible challenges, you showed incredible resilience, you invested in an industry of the future. You partnered with Qcells, a global clean energy company, to build a solar panel factory right here in Georgia," said VP Harris.
Earlier this year, QCells shared plans to construct a new Cartersville plant and enhance the capacity of its existing Dalton facility, spending $2.5 billion in the process.
Qcells is expected to cater to almost 30% of the total U.S. solar panel demand by 2027 by manufacturing solar panel components generally produced outside of the United States.
Community solar projects enable people to access solar power created in a shared location instead of having solar panels on individual rooftops.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.