The largest community solar effort in United States history—expected to generate 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 140,000 homes and businesses—was made possible by incentives from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration says.
Vice President Kamala Harris announced the project earlier this month, during a visit to the Qcells solar panel factory in Dalton, Georgia, ABC News reports. Qcells, a South Korean photovoltaic manufacturing giant, will partner with Virginia-based Summit Ridge Energy to deploy community solar projects in Illinois, Maine, and Maryland.
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Community solar provides a central, shared solar generation site that residents can use instead of roof-mounted panels. The projects are a boon to renters and those without roof access and, the White House said, can result in 10% annual savings for customers.
Summit Ridge Energy ordered 2.5 million solar panels from Qcells, the largest community solar order in U.S. history. Harris said that decision was enabled by the Biden administration’s investments to expand American manufacturing and increase demand for clean energy.
“There is a nexus there,” she said. “When we talk about the relationship between supply and demand, it is real.”
Harris acknowledged Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. Senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and their support for climate legislation. Though she did not mention any political opponents, other White House officials pointed out Republican opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, especially by Trump-friendly House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene’s district includes Dalton. She voted against the act, but hasn’t objected to the new jobs created in her electoral back yard.
“It’s somewhat ironic that this investment that’s taking place in Dalton is taking place in a district represented by someone who not only didn’t vote for the tax incentives that are responsible for bringing this, but wants to repeal them,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
