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.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy recently launched a $3 million prize to revitalize domestic solar panel manufacturing. The program will support entrepreneurs as they develop transformative ideas into concepts and then into early-stage prototypes ready for industry testing.

Traditional solar panel installations require expensive and time-consuming assembly of custom mounting systems on a roof, which can ultimately slow adoption.

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.

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.

SHELBY, NC—Schletter, a manufacturer of solar panel mounting systems, has opened a new headquarters and assembly plant here.

NORTH PORTLAND, OR—Solar panel manufacturer SoloPower will celebrate the grand opening of its $340 million assembly plant here today. The facility will employ 90 people by the end of the year.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—McCune Solar Works is in the final stages of negotiations to assume operations of the former Schott Solar assembly plant here. McCune plans to resume production at the plant next year, employing 130.