Solarcycle invests $344 million in solar factory

Solar recycling company Solarcycle is investing an estimated $344 million in a solar glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown, a city in the US state of Georgia.

Billed as the first of its kind in the country, the facility will use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new solar glass. The plant will be the first of Solarcycle’s facilities to manufacture glass in addition to recycling solar panels.

Solarcycle said the new facility will position it as one of the first manufacturers of specialized glass for crystalline-silicon photovoltaics in the United States, with the capacity to make 5 GW to 6 GW of solar glass every year.

The glass will be sold directly back to domestic solar manufacturers, said Solarcycle, filling a critical gap in the country’s supply chain to build more solar panels in America.

With construction work set to begin later this year, the facility is expected to be operational in 2026. It is set to create 600 full-time jobs in Polk County.

Solarcycle currently operates two solar panel recycling facilities in the United States. The company claims its recycling technology allows it to extract up to 95% of the value of a solar panel’s materials, such as silver, silicon, copper and aluminum and to recycle or repurpose panels for new uses.

Earlier this week, Solarcycle said it had entered into a partnership with solar module manufacturer Qcells. The agreement will see Qcells’ solar panels recycled after decommissioning.

The company recently opened a new headquarters in Mesa, Arizona.