Vice President Kamala Harris is continuing the Biden administration’s efforts to promote renewable energy. On April 6, Harris announced the largest community solar effort in U.S. history – enough to power 140,000 homes and businesses in three states – during a visit to the Qcells solar panel factory outside of Atlanta.
Qcells, whose parent company is Hanwha Solutions Corp., opened the largest solar assembly facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere in 2019. Hanwha said in January it will invest $2.5 billion to expand its Dalton, Georgia plant and build another plant in nearby Cartersville. Harris’s deal proposes that Qcells and Virginia-based Summit Ridge Energy will arrange community solar projects capable of generating 1.2 gigawatts of electricity in Illinois, Maine, and Maryland.
“Since taking office, our administration has made the largest investment in solar energy in our nation’s history,″ Harris said in a speech at the Qcells plant. “We strengthened domestic supply chains to make sure America has reliable access to parts and materials to build a clean energy technology and economy. We provided tax credits to encourage companies to buy solar panels made in America. And we invested billions more to build and expand factories like this one.″
Harris made history in 2020 when she was elected as the first female Vice President – the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history – as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. In her first speech, she spoke out on behalf of immigrants and refugees.
Harris has a lifetime dedicated to public service. Her many accomplishments include working with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office prosecuting child sexual assault cases, serving as Managing Attorney in the San Francisco’s District Attorney Office, and as Chief of the Division on Children and Families for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. She also served as District Attorney of San Francisco where she created an innovative program to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high-school degree and find employment. As Attorney General, she established the state’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice and instituted several first-of-their-kind reforms that ensured greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.