South Korea’s Hanwha invests $2.5 bn in US solar panels

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(FILES) This photograph taken on February 13, 2020 shows solar panels on the roof of the Changi Exhibition centre, where the Singapore Airshow is being held, in Singapore. – From an emissions-reducing model jet that looks like something from a sci-fi movie to electric aircraft and sustainable fuel, the aviation industry is ramping up efforts to go green as consumer pressure grows. “Sustainability” was the buzzword last week in Singapore at Asia’s biggest air show — which was powered by solar panels — with manufacturers and airlines trying to outdo one another with vows to become more sustainable. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) / TO GO WITH Asia-aviation-environment-Singapore, FOCUS by Catherine Lai and Sam Reeves

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – A South Korea company on Wednesday said that it plans to invest $2.5 billion in US solar panel manufacturing in order to take advantage of tax breaks included in President Joe Biden’s climate plan.

Biden said the plan by Hanwha Qcells would be “the largest solar investment in US history” and create thousands of jobs in the southern state of Georgia.

The project would benefit from Biden’s massive Inflation Reduction Act, a $369 billion spending plan that includes massive tax breaks for clean energy, including solar power.

The spending bonanza has caused alarm among US trade partners in Europe and Asia who fear the plan will starve their own industries of much needed investment.

The European Union also sharply criticizes provisions in the IRA that would limit US tax breaks on buying electric vehicles to cars made in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Hanwha Qcells said it plans to expand the firm’s manufacturing capacity at its plant in the city of Dalton, Georgia, and to build a new plant in Cartersville.

Building solar panels in the United States will also provide help towards the Biden administration’s goal of dropping China as a manufacturer for crucial imports.

© Agence France-Presse