A bit of over a yr in the past, a Virginia vitality firm introduced plans to purchase thousands and thousands of photo voltaic panels inbuilt Georgia within the largest “neighborhood photo voltaic” buy within the historical past of US.
This week, Summit Ridge Energy mentioned it plans to just about double the dedication.
Summit Ridge mentioned it can increase its order from Qcells in Northwest Georgia from 1.2 gigawatts to 2 gigawatts. The further capability will go to greater than 100 extra neighborhood photo voltaic tasks throughout the nation, the businesses mentioned in an announcement. When full, Summit Ridge mentioned the combination fleet of photo voltaic farms will generate sufficient clear vitality to energy an estimated 200,000 properties and companies.
“Community photo voltaic” is a time period for a solar energy generator that helps a number of subscribers, who both use the electrical energy immediately or earn credit on their month-to-month vitality payments.
“This permits the participation of consumers who had been beforehand excluded from the clear vitality economic system — corresponding to renters and other people whose properties are usually not appropriate for rooftop photo voltaic,†a Summit Ridge spokesperson wrote in an electronic mail.
South Korea-based Qcells operates two factories in Georgia. on In 2023, the corporate introduced its second manufacturing facility as a part of a $2.5 billion enlargement in Bartow and Whitfield counties that can be anticipated to create 2,500 jobs. Combined, the crops are the biggest photo voltaic manufacturing operation within the Western Hemisphere, the corporate mentioned.
Last yr’s unique settlement with Summit Ridge introduced Whitfield County Vice President Kamala Harris to announce the order and tout it as an endorsement of the Biden administration’s inexperienced vitality and financial insurance policies.
QCells is making an aggressive play for the US renewable vitality market in response to billions of {dollars} in federal and state incentives. It began producing completed photo voltaic panels earlier this yr.
Georgia has grow to be a inexperienced jobs magnet, with multibillion-dollar investments in firms like Qcells, in addition to electrical automobile and battery producers. In addition to federal incentives, the state of Georgia, led by Gov. Brian Kemp, and native officers, used tax breaks and different incentives to draw producers right here.
Currently, not one of the properties or companies operated by Summit Ridge are situated in Georgia.
The firm has deployed panels in states with lively “neighborhood photo voltaic” applications corresponding to Maryland, Illinois, Virginia and Maine.
A Republican-backed effort to go laws creating an analogous program in Georgia died within the Legislature this yr. The Summit Ridge consultant expressed hope that lawmakers will proceed to work on the problem.
“With the passage of that laws, Summit Ridge hopes to put in panels all through Georgia utilizing these in-house manufactured modules,†the spokesperson mentioned.
Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells, mentioned in an announcement that the enlargement of the acquisition settlement means extra communities may have entry to photo voltaic vitality.
“This partnership not solely helps the home photo voltaic manufacturing business and hundreds of jobs, however it additionally ensures that many individuals “especially these traditionally left behind†profit from all that the economic system has to supply. clear vitality,†he mentioned.
Even with the enlargement, the Summit Ridge deal is not Qcells’ greatest to this point. Last yr, Microsoft ordered 2.5 gigawatts of photo voltaic producing capability.
A disclosure observe
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