Vietnamese solar company pledges 908 jobs at future $294 million Eastern NC plant
In one of the largest state jobs announcements of the year so far, the Vietnamese solar producer Boviet Solar promises to create more than 900 jobs at a future facility in the Eastern North Carolina city of Greenville.
The company was founded in 2013 and manufactures photovoltaic modules technologies, which convert sunlight to energy. By 2028, Boviet says it will create 908 jobs and invest $294 million at the facility, which could span more than 1 million square feet in Pitt County.
On Friday, the N.C. Economic Investment Committee awarded Boviet an $8.3 million job development investment grant, or JDIG, to be paid out through tax benefits over 12 years if the company reaches its hiring and investment targets.
Other state incentives for the project include $1.8 million for the state community college system to train workers and $2 million from the Golden Leaf Foundation. Local incentives between Pitt County and the city of Greenville offer the project another $18 million.
Average wages at the site will be $52,879, according to the state grant agreement. North Carolina officials said Boviet picked Greenville over fellow finalists Phoenix and Atlanta.
About 80 miles east of Raleigh, Greenville is home to East Carolina University, where Gov. Roy Cooper is scheduled to speak Friday on the Boviet development. Attracting projects in the renewable energy sector, including several incoming electric vehicle battery sites, has been a point of emphasis for the governor.
“This decision has proven yet again that North Carolina is a hub for clean energy, offering advanced manufacturers a skilled workforce, an excellent quality of life, and affordable communities to support its work in sustainability,” Cooper said in a statement.
By establishing a manufacturing hub in the United States, Boviet could sidestep potential tariffs imposed on foreign solar panel producers. This week, several U.S. solar companies accused four Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, of allowing Chinese companies to skirt tariffs by shifting manufacturing to their nations. In a request Wednesday to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. manufacturers asked for additional tariffs to be levied on Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand.
