Solar panel recycling outfit SolarCycle today announced plans to start a solar glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown, Georgia, that would use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new glass. The $344 million facility will create more than 600 new jobs in the area.
SolarCycle currently operates facilities in Odessa, Texas, and Mesa, Arizona, and has inked long-term partnerships with more than 40 of the nation’s largest solar energy companies to reuse and recycle their solar panels, including Georgia-based solar manufacturer Qcells. The company’s advanced, proprietary recycling technology allows it to extract 95% of the value from used solar panels.
SolarCycle’s new facility in Georgia will position the company as one of the first manufacturers of specialized glass for crystalline-silicon photovoltaics in the United States, with the capacity to make 5 to 6 GW worth of solar glass every year. The glass will be sold directly back to the domestic solar manufacturers and fill a critical gap in the country’s supply chain to build more solar panels in America.
“There is no question that solar panel manufacturing is booming in the State of Georgia. We are thrilled to join the team and build our recycled solar glass plant in Cedartown, which will bring hundreds of good-paying jobs to Georgia and help the industry in its goals to build fully American-made clean energy solutions,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of SolarCycle.
SolarCycle will construct a new manufacturing facility located at Cedartown North Business Park, a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certified site. 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. SolarCycle will create full-time jobs in manufacturing, engineering, management, research and design, and support staff.
“The United States’ landmark Inflation Reduction Act has spurred unprecedented levels of domestic manufacturing investments,” said Becca Jones-Albertus, Director of the U.S. Dept. 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.”
