The U.S. just got a little closer to establishing a fully domestic solar supply chain.

Qcells, a EPC service provider and one of the country’s largest and only PV manufacturers, announced that has begun manufacturing solar cells at its Cartersville, Georgia factory, marking a milestone toward completing the country’s only vertically integrated solar manufacturing plant, where major components from ingot to finished module are made under one roof.

The company expects to be at full production by Q3 2026, launching the largest operating solar cell factory in U.S. history. In addition to starting its cell production, Cartersville module assembly is now at full capacity, building 16,700 panels per day.

Once fully operational, Qcells’ facility in Cartersville, Georgia will add 3.3 GW of vertically integrated ingot, wafer, cell, and 3.5 GW of module capacity, with Qcells’ total U.S. output poised to hit 8.6 GW by the end of Q3 2026. Cartersville will be the first U.S. factory to produce the “major parts” of a solar photovoltaic module under one roof, Qcells said.

The modules produced in Cartersville will also help project developers and asset owners qualify for the 10% Domestic Content Bonus under the Investment Tax Credit, because the major components of each module are made domestically.

“Producing the first solar cells at Cartersville is a milestone for Qcells and for American manufacturing,” said Andy Park, Global CEO of Qcells. “As our ingot, wafer, and cell lines reach full capacity, we’ll be making the major components of a solar panel right here in Georgia. A dependable domestic supply chain doesn’t just create thousands of good-paying jobs, it gives our customers greater certainty on price, supply, and tariffs, and a product they can trust from start to finish.”

By Q3 2026, Cartersville is expected to make 3.3 GW each of ingots, wafers, cells, and 3.5 GW of modules a year, the company said. Together with Qcells’ expanded Dalton factory, which tripled module capacity to 5.1 GW in late 2023, Qcells’ total module capacity in Georgia will reach 8.6 GW a year, or 47,000 panels a day.

Qcells argues it is uniquely positioned to capture the full value of the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit across the solar value chain. By producing ingots, wafers, cells and modules domestically, the company says it can claim credits at each stage of production.

In summer 2024, the Biden administration’s Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.45 billion to Qcells, offered through LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program.

Qcells is one of the ten largest utility-scale project developers for both solar and storage in the United States, with more than 2 GW of projects developed or constructed and a project development pipeline of 10+ GW. The company uses passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technology, which allows for the passivation of the solar cell’s rear side by installing a reflective layer designed to direct sunlight back into the cell where it can be converted into electricity. The company opened its first factory in Georgia to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. In 2022, it announced plans to add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output. 

Last summer, Qcells launched EcoRecycle by Qcells, a new vertical designed to address the growing challenge of solar panel waste and reduce the industry’s overall environmental footprint. EcoRecycle launched recycling operations at the Cartersville plant, and at full capacity, EcoRecycle’s shop will have the ability to recycle approximately 250 megawatts (MW) of solar panels annually (around 500,000 panels per year), repurposing materials including aluminum, glass, silver, and copper.

Qcells says it plans to expand with recycling centers across the U.S., aiming to optimize logistics and scale up operations to enhance efficiency. The company notes that the supply of decommissioned panels is anticipated to continue increasing annually, prompting EcoRecycle to take proactive steps to address the problem through innovative recycling solutions.

Currently, a lack of mandatory recycling regulations has led to the majority of waste solar panels being sent to landfills, Qcells notes. However, state-level discussions on mandatory recycling policies are gaining momentum in the U.S., and the solar recycling industry is rapidly evolving. New advancements in recycling technology are driving cost reductions and enhancing the value of recovered materials through high-purity resource extraction methods.