SEOUL -- Hanwha Q Cells, the solar cell-making wing of South Korea's Hanwha Group, will provide 12 gigawatt-class solar panels to Microsoft by 2032. The amount of generated electricity is enough to provide power to about 1.8 million households annually.
According to data released by global energy market research firm Wood Mackenzie, Hanwha Q Cells topped the residential and commercial solar module markets in the U.S. in the first half of 2023. The South Korean company is operating a solar module factory in Georgia’s northwestern city of Dalton. In January 2023, Hanwha Q Cells has agreed to supply 2.5 gigawatt-class solar panels to Microsoft.
"We have decided to provide additional 9.5 gigawatt-class solar panels to Microsoft," Hanwha Q Cells' spokesperson Shin Hyung-seob told Aju Korea Daily on January 9. The solar panels will be produced at Hanwha Q Cells' plant in Cartersville, Georgia. The Cartersville factory is currently being built under a $2.5 billion project.
"We are pleased to be a part of such a substantial commitment that will accelerate the global shift to renewable energy solutions," Hanwha Q Cells CEO Justin Lee said in a statement. "Qcells is uniquely positioned to ally with Microsoft towards creating a clean, sustainable future because of our investment in building an American-made solar supply chain."
Hanwha Q Cells is currently expanding its production facility in Georgia to overcome the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Under the IRA, companies that build solar manufacturing facilities in the U.S. can receive tax benefits and other government support. The U.S. has injected about $430 billion in a bid to expand renewable energy infrastructure.
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