[Irvine, United States, December 20, 2019] Qcells (or “The Company”), a world-leading total energy solutions provider, joined in celebrating the commissioning of the Bancroft Station Solar Farm on December 12th, Facebook’s first solar project in the state of Georgia. Qcells joined Facebook, Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC), Silicon Ranch, and state and local representatives to “flip the switch” on the 102.5 megawatt (MWAC) solar facility in a special ceremony at the project site.
Facebook chose Walton EMC as the power supplier for its data center in Newton County when it announced the facility in March 2018. As part of its agreement to supply 100 percent renewable energy for the center, Walton EMC announced a contract in December 2018 with solar power producers.
The resulting solar project has yielded tangible economic benefits across the state. To support Facebook's data center and corresponding investments in Newton County, Silicon Ranch employed more than 675 people in Early County over the past ten months to assemble and install single-axis trackers that utilize NexTracker's TrueCapture smart control system, enabling more than 350,000 Q.PEAK DUO L-G5.2 solar modules to track the sun from east to west across more than 1,200 acres. The locally-sourced modules were among the first produced by Qcells at its manufacturing facility in Whitfield County, which is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
“This project is representative of the cooperative approach to economic development across our state that has made Georgia a leader in innovative fields like solar energy," said Governor Brian P. Kemp. "The world-class solar modules manufactured by Qcells in northeast Georgia and installed at Silicon Ranch's solar field in Early County are paving the way for leading companies with a focus on sustainability like Facebook to find a home in Georgia. That cooperation, facilitated by our outstanding local economic development partners like Walton EMC, is a large part of what has earned Georgia the title of No. 1 State for Business for seven consecutive years, and I am excited for the future of the solar energy industry in our state."
Qcells CEO Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim remarked: "Celebration of this new facility coincides with the celebration of Qcells' 20th anniversary, a timely reminder of how Qcells strives to provide U.S. customers with high-performance modules, while leaving a positive impact on the economy of Georgia. Qcells commends Facebook for its dedication to renewable energy sources as well as Silicon Ranch and Walton EMC for their commitment to delivering a world facility."
About Qcells
Qcells is one of the world’s largest and most recognized photovoltaic manufacturers for its high-performance, high-quality solar cells and modules. It is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (Global Executive HQ) and Thalheim, Germany (Technology & Innovation HQ) with diverse international manufacturing facilities in the U.S., South Korea, Malaysia, and China. Qcells offers the full spectrum of photovoltaic products, applications and solutions, from cells and modules to kits to systems to large-scale solar power plants. Through its growing global business network spanning Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East, Qcells provides excellent services and long-term partnerships to its customers in the utility, commercial, governmental and residential markets. For more information, visit: www.q-cells.com.
About Walton EMC
Walton EMC is a customer-owned power company that serves accounts over its 10-county service area between Atlanta and Athens, Ga. Its primary focus is providing exceptional service to its 130,000 residential, commercial and industrial customer-owner accounts while s. Learn more at facebook.com/waltonemc and waltonemc.com.
About Silicon Ranch Corporation
Silicon Ranch is the U.S. solar platform for Shell and one of the largest independent solar f customers across the country, including Fortune 500 companies and electric cooperatives, demonstrates its portfolio includes more than 125 facilities across 14 states from New York to California, including the first large-scale solar projects in Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Silicon Ranch pioneered utility-scale solar in Georgia and is today a recognized market leader, with more than 1 Gigawatt across the state. To learn more, visit siliconranch.com and go to facebook.com/siliconranch.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Qcells does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Hanwha Qcells America Inc.
E-mail: media@us.q-cells.com