As two South Korean companies, a billion -dollar investment for construction announced Solar panel And electrical battery Fabrics in the northwest of Georgia have contributed to the federal subsidies to complete a deal to diversify the local economy.
The factories promised thousands of new jobs and changed the production base in Cartersville, once a city from cotton mill before an Anheuser Busch brewery arrived in the 1990s and a tire plant in 2006.
But now the Republicans want to do so in congress Intestine the subsidies For projects across the country in one Tax reduction Probably days after the final passage. President Donald Trump’s legislation could harm Cartersville, although it was in an overwhelming Republican Bartow County, who supported Trump three times with 75% of the votes that he appeared on the ballot.
Both companies say they continue their blueprints. But Steve Taylor, a Republican who is the only chosen commissioner of Bartow County, says that the termination of the tax credits is “a little worrying”.
“These companies came and gave us a completely different kind of industry and production for our community,” said Taylor.
After a few measures, no state can lose more than Georgia through such cuts in Trumps ” Big nice bill. “” The Republicans in Georgia were largely silent, while the two democratic US sensors are decided in Georgia.
“A coordination for this draft law is a coordination against the economy of Georgia and a vote that assumes so much of what we have worked so hard to be endangered.” US Senator Jon Ossoff the Associated Press told.
And only a few cities have more to lose than Cartersville, the headquarters in Bartow County, about 55 kilometers northwest of Atlanta. Since the county turns from rural areas into the suburb, the leaders see an economic boost from the in advance 5 billion US dollar battery factory This (hotlink) Hyundai motor (/hotlink) group and SK On building as well as the 2.3 billion US dollars solar system Belonging to QCELLS, a unit of Hanwha Solutions. Both plants undertake to pay employees an average of $ 53,000 per year.
Clean energy projects start in Georgia
Georgia’s huge burglary of clean energy projects started before 2022 when President Joe Biden then signed his signed Signature climate networkThe inflation reduction law. But if at all, This rush accelerated. The 33 additional projects announced by the end of 2024 were the state. According to E2an environmental group. The exact figures differ, but projects in Georgia show 20 billion US dollars and promised more than 25,000 jobs.
Buyers from QCELLS Solar model receive a tax credit of 40%, including a bonus of 10% for content that would disappear as part of the invoice. QCELLS itself would still receive production tax credits for panels that were produced in Cartersville last year. The legislation would also tax companies that buy panels or components from some countries, including China. This could help QCELLS, but would not help domestic producers as much as the bonus of the domestic content.
When the system of 1,900 work has been completed, it takes up sophisticated polysilicon, pours it into pergots and then cuts thinly into the wafer, which become solar cells. According to QCELLS, the control of your own supply chain will work more efficiently. These additional steps would bring additional tax credits to the company.
Scott Moscowitz, Vice President for Market Strategy and Industry Matters at QCELLS, said that the company built its first American factory The road up to Dalton During the first Trump government in response to Trump’s protectionist trade policy. Moskowitz argues that a quick restriction of Trump’s federal subsidies to strengthen domestic help and to withdraw the buyers to the Chinese -controlled producers.
Some local Republicans make up the alarm, and 16 legislators of the GOP state discuss the congress in a letter dated June 17 to maintain tax relief for solar collectors.
“We ask you not to weaken the tax credits, as this would only damage the renaissance of production in Georgia and Chinese companies create the opportunity to take over the solar industry,” wrote the legislators Georgia, led by the Republican state Rep. Matthew Gambill from Cartersville.
Some argue that it is unfair to pull out the carpet for the congress after companies had rely on the promise of the federal support to invest huge sums.
“I would like to think that, from a business perspective, you, if you have agreements, do it to fulfill it,” said the Mayor of Cartersville, Matt Santini,.
High -ranking Republicans in Georgia have been silent
Clean Energy projects mainly have in Republican congress districts with a report by Public order of Atlas Finding GOP districts organizes 77% of the planned editions.
But the Republican US MP Barry Loudermilk, who lives in Bartow County, praised the cuts when they passed the house in May Oil, gas and coal production in federal states.
The Republican governor Brian Kemp says he stays out of the debate.
“Our position is that the congress must be the one who decides the future of IRA,” said Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas.
Kemp loves Green Energy investments and jobs and even explained that his goal is to make Georgia a “electromobility capital of America”. But Kemp and Ossoff come against the Green Energy Boom in Georgia. Kemp disputes strong The fact that the incentives between Biden-era stimulate the flood of investments and said that many industries were already on the way before the inflation reduction law was passed.
In contrast to his current silence, Kemp loudly opposed some demands on the domestic content that Hyundai made difficult to access the same tax credits as union union -based car manufacturers.
“In general, the Inflation Reducation Act selected winners and losers, and we saw that this negatively influenced our partners,” said Douglas.
All nine members of the Republican House in Georgia voted for the support of the law, including the US representative Buddy Carter, the earlier signed a letter Support of subsidies for green energy. Fuhrmann, Who is looking for the GOP nomination To resist Ossoff for the Senate in 2026, a coastal district that contains A is 7.6 billion US dollars Hyundai plant In Ellabell it started with production last year.
Hyundai wants to do batteries in a plant with 3,500 employees near Cartersville, so that Hyundai and Whenever Buyers can fully use the tax credit of 7,500 US dollars for electric vehicles. These credits would end six months after the invoice was issued under the current version.
The company publicly exposes the current legislative struggle. But with American demand for electric vehicles slowlyHyundai now says that it will also build gas -electrical hybrid vehicles in Ellabell, which is to be projected once in order to only produce electric vehicles.
“We continue to concentrate on electrification because we believe that this is a significant long-term chance,” said Hyundai spokesman Michael Stewart in an explanation. “At the same time, our business is driven by consumers’ demand, which is why we continue to offer a wide range of drive strands.”
Bartow County’s leaders say that it is the interest of everyone to keep the projects on a solid foot and that jobs should outweigh politics.
“I don’t know that people are facing this topic in party lines,” said Santini.
According to Ossoff, the partisanity motivates many Republicans in Georgia to turn to the economic interests of the state.
“For national republicans, loyalty towards Trump is more important than anything else, and that’s what Trump says,” said Ossoff.
