Georgia
Georgia Intelligence Report: Georgia Digs In On EVs & Clean Energy: Supply chains cluster around billion-dollar investments.
ast fall, the small town of Metter, Georgia, scored an atypically large investment — $35 million — from a foreign automotive supplier that’s since broken ground on a manufacturing plant there. It took but five months before Metter inked a second such manufacturing project of generational proportions.
Combined, the two projects — from the South Korean automotive suppliers DAS and Doowon — represent capital expenditures of $65 million and 500 new jobs landing in a town of fewer than 4,000 citizens an hour west of Savannah.
Huge investments in clean energy and electric transportation are coming to lots of Georgia towns with names you’ve never heard. Gov. Brian Kemp has taken to calling Georgia “the e-mobility capital of the world.” There’s not a corner of the state that hasn’t been touched.
Anovion, a maker of EV battery materials, is pumping $800 million into a plant being built in Bainbridge. SK Battery is down for $2.6 billion — and 3,000 jobs — in Commerce. Rivian plans to bring 7,500 jobs to Social Circle. Sewon, another in a veritable parade line of South Korean EV suppliers, is investing $300 million and creating 740 jobs in Rincon. Black Creek, Cartersville, Richmond Hill, Newnan, Dublin, Locust Grove, Toccoa and Kingsland are among the Georgia enclaves taking on EV-related projects that need at least 100 workers.
Qcells Makes Record Commitment
As this promised EV ecosystem continues to fill in with investments now exceeding $23 billion, less noticed but not to be forgotten is Georgia’s massive foothold in solar manufacturing. South Korea’s Qcells, which opened the Western Hemisphere’s largest solar panel facility in Dalton in 2019, now accounts for some 40% of U.S. solar panel capacity at that original site and an adjacent facility. Last year, Qcells announced a $2.5 billion expansion of its Georgia footprint, the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the U.S., according to both state and federal officials.
“This news,” said Qcells CEO Justin Lee in a statement, “is further evidence of our growing partnership with Georgia, the workforce there, and an even brighter future together.”
Expanding out of Dalton, Qcells is building a manufacturing facility at a state-certified site in Cartersville, less than an hour northwest of Atlanta on I-75. The Cartersville plant, the company says, will manufacture 3.3 gigawatts annually of solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished panels. In October, Qcells announced the completion of the expansion’s Dalton phase, bringing the full factory’s output to more than 5.1 GW, and, the company said in a statement, “the first solar panel expansion since the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.” As that sprawling federal support fund continues to back clean energy projects across the state, officials of the Kemp administration point out that Qcells put down billion-dollar roots in Georgia long before the IRA.
“Out of all the places Qcells could have gone,” Gov. Kemp said in a statement. “They chose to operate and expand here in Georgia because of our unrivaled assets and the competitive package we put together.”
Hyundai’s Expanding Reach
Without doubt, though, the jewel in Georgia’s clean energy crown is Hyundai’s ahead-of-schedule and already expanding Metaplant America near Savannah, and the fertile jobs ecosystem that has sprung up to supply it. Trip Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), likes to point out that it’s only been two years since Hyundai officials first visited the site in Bryan County (see Site Selection, March 2023), to which they’ve now pledged investments totaling some $7.5 billion. Construction of the plant is moving forward at a ruthless clip.
“When you go out there and see what they’ve accomplished in such a short time, it’s pretty freaking amazing,” Tollison says.
Connected to the Metaplant by the increasingly busy I-16, Metter lies within Hyundai’s expanding radius of suppliers. It’s 45 minutes to the west.
“Looking ahead to future expansion prospects, we deemed Metter to be an ideal location thanks to its close proximity to Metaplant America,” said Sen Kim, CEO of DAS, announcing the company’s $35 million, 300-job project in September. Doowon Climate Control America, announcing its $30 million, 200-job project in February, said it will funnel parts from Metter to both Hyundai and Kia, Georgia’s other big automaker. Farther west still on I-16, South Korea’s Hwashin, another parts maker, announced plans in October for a $176 million manufacturing plant that’s bringing 460 jobs to Dublin. In all, SEDA counts 17 Hyundai suppliers in the process of building out in Georgia.
“If you add up what Hyundai and all its suppliers are doing,” says Tollison, “it is a 15,000-job project with a $10 billion investment.”
New Nuclear in Waynesboro
When Georgia Power’s Vogtle Unit 3 entered commercial operation in July, its inauguration marked the completion of the country’s first newly constructed nuclear unit in more than 30 years. A companion Unit 4, its control room shown here, is expected to power up this spring, with the two reactors projected to produce a combined 2,200 MW of carbon-free electricity, enough to power 1 million homes.
Despite years of delays and significant cost overruns, supporters of the project, including Gov. Brian Kemp, hail the emerging new power source as a central component of Georgia’s efforts to recruit clean energy jobs.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Power
Georgia
GOPers ignore election officials’ warnings, leaving Georgia little time for paper ballots switch
Georgia election officials have less than three months to convert the state’s entire voting system from touchscreen machines to paper ballots, after the state Senate failed to vote Friday on legislation that would have delayed the conversion until 2028.
The rushed system switch risks compromising election security and will complicate ballot counting, delay reporting results and create “widespread confusion” for voters and election administrators, county officials say.
Georgia’s current touchscreen system generates QR codes for ballot counting. But in 2024 GOP state lawmakers voted to sunset these machines by July 1 of this year, making it illegal to use them beyond that. Last week, the state Senate passed a bill to change over to a completely hand-marked ballot system.
However, local election officials urged lawmakers to delay that switch until 2028 so that they would have time to put the new system in place, which would include pre-printing millions of ballots and re-training election workers.
The state House passed a bipartisan bill this morning that would’ve allowed for that two-year grace period. But the Senate – led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), who is running for the GOP nomination for governor – declined to bring it forward for a vote Friday, the final day of this year’s legislative session.
That means election officials now have until July 1 to develop a system where voters use a pen to fill in oval bubbles to select their candidates.
“This proposal would create widespread confusion for Georgia voters and election officials,” said Joseph Kirk, a county election supervisor and president of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials (GAVREO), last month. “Simply put, transitioning to a new election system and implementing major changes to the voting process this close to the 2026 general election is unworkable.”
Among the problems with doing a ballot system conversion in a crunch – and so close to midterms and Georgia’s gubernatorial election – is that the bill offers no funding for implementing the switch or for technology that could help expedite it. It also creates a security risk, according to GAVREO, given that election officials have little time to train staff and develop protective measures for guarding the millions of pre-printed ballots required by the law before Election Day.
Election officials also warn that the law’s new reporting requirements will cause delays in ballot counting and in delivering timely results. Those problems often trigger chaos, controversy and conspiracy theories, as seen in the fallout over Fulton County’s 2020 election ballot count, which is still being probed today.
Leaders of both parties are now scrambling to see if they can make other modifications or resuscitate the delayed deadline through a special emergency session.
Tyson Foods is shutting down its prepared foods plant in Rome, Georgia, next month, laying off over a hundred employees as part of the closure.
According to a notice posted to Georgia’s WARN Act database, the company plans to close its plant on Darlington Drive, which is operated under The Hillshire Brands Company, on May 31. The notice shows that all 168 workers employed at the plant will be laid off.
The WARN Act, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires certain employers to give advance notice of large layoffs or closures, giving workers time to prepare for job loss.
In a release shared to CBS News Atlanta, a spokesperson for the company called the closure a “difficult decision.”
“The facility has operated under a unique single-customer model, but recent changes have made continued operations at the site no longer viable,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize the impact this has on our team members and the Rome community. Supporting our people is our top priority, and we are encouraging impacted team members to apply for other roles within the company while working with state and local partners to provide support during this transition.”
This is the latest closure by the multinational meat giant, which has struggled with losses in the beef business. Last year, the company closed its beef plant in Lexington, Kentucky, which had employed roughly 3,200 people in the city of 11,000. In 2024, Tyson closed a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, that employed 25% of the town’s working-age residents.
Bottom of the 5th
Top of the 5th
Coleman Lewis came into the game and hit a one out home run to push Georgia Tech’s lead to 15-0 and after Rogers struck out swinging, Baker hit his second home run of the night to make it 16-0. Burress then walked and Brosius entered the game in place of Lackey and he walked to put two runners on. A pair of wild pitches advanced the runners and scored Burress to make it 17-0 and then Cal got the final out,
Bottom of the 4th
McKee gives up two singles, but no runs. GT leads 14-0 heading to the 5th
Top of the 4th
A solo home run from Baker made it 13-0 in favor of Georgia Tech and then after a pair of walks, a sac fly from Hernandez made it 14-0. Schmidt flew out to end the inning, but the lead has grown by two runs.
Bottom of the 3rd
Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 12-0 heading to the 4th
Top of the 3rd
Burress got things started with a leadoff single and then a walk from Lackey put two runners on with no outs. A 2-RBI triple from Advincula pushed the lead to 11-0 and then after a walk from Hernandez, Schmidt drove in Advincula to make it 12-0. Yellow Jackets did not add any more and they lead 12-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd
Bottom of the 2nd
McKee walks one and gives up a single, but keeps Cal off the board. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 3rd
Top of the 2nd
Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for GT. Yellow Jackets lead 9-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd
Bottom of the 1st
Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 2nd
Top of the 1st
Burress got a leadoff walk and then Lackey doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. A 2-RBI double from Advincula gave Georgia Tech an early 2-0 lead. Advincula advanced to third on a wild pitch and after Hernandez walked, Schmidt drove in Advincula with a sac fly to make it 3-0.
Zuckerman then singled to put runners on the corners and that led to an RBI double from Kerce to make it 4-0 with just one out. A throwing error scored Zuckerman and put Kerce on third and Daniel on first. That was it for the Golden Bears starting pitcher and they made a change.
The change did not produce immediate results. An RBI single from Baker made it 6-0 and after Burress struck out swinging, another error scored Daniel to make it 7-0 and then Advincula came up with another big hit, with an RBI double pushing the lead to 8-0. Hernandez walked in his second at bat of the inning and then Schmidt drew a bases loaded walk to make it 9-0. Then, Cal made another pitching change for the Golden Bears. Zuckerman struck out swinging, but it was a huge inning for GT
Pregame
RHP Tate McKee (4-0) is on the mound today and here is how Georgia Tech is going to be lining up:
1. CF Drew Burress
2. C Vahn Lackey
3. 2B Jarren Advincula
4. RF Alex Hernandez
5. 1B Kent Schmidt
6. 3B Ryan Zuckerman
7. SS Carson Kerce
8. LF Caleb Daniel
9. DH Will Baker
The No. 3 ranked Yellow Jackets enter the weekend series at Cal with a 23-5 (9-3 ACC) record, the best 28-game record since 2010.
Tech has won 23 games with five or fewer losses for only the 11th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2008, 2003, 2002, 1997, 1994, 1992, 1990, 1971 and 1906 Head coach James Ramsey is tied with his predecessor, Danny Hall, for the best record by any first-year GT head coach through the first 28 games of their tenure.
Jarren Advincula is making his return to the Bay Area after playing each of the first two seasons of his college career at Cal. The junior enters the weekend leading the ACC in hits (47) and in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak. Should he collect a hit in all three games this weekend, he would match his career long hitting streak.
This will be the just the second weekend series between Georgia Tech and Cal and the 7th, 8th and 9th meetings overall. GT leads the all-time series 4-2 after winning all four games against the Golden Bears last season – a 3-0 series sweep in Atlanta and a 10-3 victory in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in which the Yellow Jackets set an ACC Tournament record with seven home runs.
The Jackets went 3-0 in the state of California last season when they became the first college baseball team from east of the Mississippi River to sweep Stanford, at Stanford in a three-game series.
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