SOLARCYCLE has invested $344 million in a solar panel glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown, Georiga.
The facility will use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new solar glass. SOLARCYCLE says that this is a first in the U.S.
"SOLARCYCLE's first-of-its-kind facility is a transformational investment for the Polk County community and will help drive its economy for years to come," said Governor Brian Kemp. "In Georgia, our strong energy mix is one of the key reasons our state has attracted generational investments in recent years. We will keep working to secure our power supply through exciting projects like this one."
SOLARCYCLE currently operates facilities in Odessa, Texas, and Mesa, Arizona – and has inked long-term partnerships with more than forty solar energy companies to reuse and recycle their solar panels. The company's recycling technology allows it to extract 95 percent of the value from used solar panels.
SOLARCYCLE says that its new facility in Georgia will position the company as one of the first manufacturers of specialized glass for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics in the U.S., with the capacity to make five to six gigawatts worth of solar glass every year. The glass will be sold directly back to the domestic solar manufacturers.
SOLARCYCLE will construct a new manufacturing facility located at Cedartown North Business Park. The plant, which will be the first of SOLARCYCLE's facilities to manufacture glass in addition to recycling solar panels, is scheduled to begin construction in 2024 and will be operational in 2026.
"I was proud to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act, and I am thrilled to see Georgians continuing to reap its benefits as solar energy production explodes across the state and country, helping fuel our emerging clean energy economy and create good-paying, local jobs in the process," said Senator Reverend Warnock.
"The United States' landmark Inflation Reduction Act has spurred unprecedented levels of domestic manufacturing investments," said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, which has invested $1.5 million in SOLARCYCLE's research and development efforts. "We are excited to see U.S. solar companies expanding their footprint in the domestic solar supply chain and creating economic opportunities in their communities."
