Here in the sleepy Georgian town of Dalton, which was formerly well-known for its fabric floor coverings, a business named Qcells, based in Korea, is investing $2.5 billion (£2 billion) to build an additional solar panel factory.
In the next 12 months, this audacious project will generate 2,500 high-quality jobs in a region where the average household income is around 27% less than the national average. The initiative is intended to revitalize a region of the US that seems to have seen its heyday pass.
And a large portion of that may be attributed to Joe Biden, whom many Republicans in this district would prefer not to acknowledge.
The president provided hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks, credits, and loans to support American manufacturing in the clean energy sector through his historic 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), his centerpiece piece of green legislation.
With significant global ramifications, the most comprehensive climate legislation in US history has unleashed a wave of private sector investment. And Georgia has benefited greatly—a state that President Biden believes will be involved in this year’s presidential contest.
But despite the billions of dollars in fresh investment in this crucial battleground state, the incumbent’s support doesn’t seem to have increased with four months left before the president faces off against Donald Trump.
