DALTON, GA—The South Korean company Hanwha Q Cells USA has opened the largest solar module manufacturing plant in North America. The $200 million factory will employ 650 people and produce enough solar panels each year to generate as much peak power as the Hoover Dam.

It’s not unusual to find alternative lifestyle activities on or around college campuses. But, at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, the word “alternative” refers to new types of energy systems.

BUFFALO, NY—SolarCity’s sprawling assembly plant here is nearing completion and will soon begin producing some of the most efficient solar panels available commercially. Capable of making 10,000 solar panels a day, or 1 gigawatt of solar capacity a year, it will be the largest solar manufacturing plant in North America and one of the biggest in the world.

BUFFALO, NY—SolarCity has pledged to hire another 1,500 workers in the next decade at its solar panel manufacturing plant under construction here. That would be on top of the 3,000 the company hopes to hire when the plant begins production.

NORCROSS, GA—Solar cell manufacturer Suniva Inc. will invest nearly $100 million to expand its headquarters here, creating up to 500 jobs. The project will triple manufacturing capacity at the facility.

JACKSON, MS—Chinese solar panel manufacturer Seraphim Solar will invest $50 million to open its first U.S. assembly plant here. The company expects to will hire 250 workers during its first five years of operation.