Qcells says it has resumed production of solar panels at its manufacturing facilities in Georgia after U.S. Customs and Border Protection released seven solar cell shipments from South Korea that had been held under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), furloughing 1,000 workers and temporarily halting production at the second-largest module factory in the United States.
Qcells, the U.S. solar manufacturing arm of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said it has officially returned to normal solar panel production at its manufacturing facilities in Georgia.
The increased production volume closes a chapter for the manufacturer’s American activities. In November 2025, the company announced a furloughing 1,000 of its employees due to a temporary pause in production due to a lengthy customs clearance process.
“We are proud to get back to work producing the American energy the country needs now,” said Marta Stoepker, chief communications officer at Qcells. “As with any business, there have been and will continue to be hurdles that require us to adapt and be agile, but our overall goal remains the same: to build a complete U.S. solar supply chain.”
At the time of the furlough, the company reported significant delays at U.S. ports, holding up seven shipments of solar cells from South Korea. The supply chain bottlenecks began earlier this year when US Customs and Border Protection initiated the seizure of imports of Qcells solar cells under the UFLPA.
In August 2025, Qcells confirmed the arrests but issued statements saying it was confident its supply chain was free of material originating in the Xinjiang region, which is the subject of the UFLPA.
At the time of the furlough, Qcells noted that most of its shipments were clearing customs, but increasing delays had already led to a temporary reduction in production capacity.
With the supply chain up and running and employees back at work, Qcells is moving ahead with the $2.5 billion expansion of its Cartesville facility, which is expected to enable 3.3 GW of ingot, wafer and cell manufacturing capacity by the end of 2026.
At full capacity, the two Georgia facilities will produce a combined 8.4 GW of solar panels and components annually. To achieve these goals, the company plans to further expand its newly returned workforce. By the end of 2026, Qcells expects to employ a combined workforce of nearly 4,000 people at the two locations.
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