Solar company creating 908 jobs, investing $294 million in Pitt County – Business North Carolina

Vietnam-based Boviet Solar, a global renewable energy company, will create 908 new jobs in Pitt County with a $294 million investment to locate its first North American solar panel manufacturing facility in Greenville, according to a release from the state.

Boviet Solar is a Tier 1 solar technology manufacturer of solar panels and photovoltaic cells. The company does solar project developments for commercial, industrial and residential customers in the U.S. The expansion in Pitt County will increase the company’s global capacity to produce high-end solar panels and PV modules in a 1 million-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility.

“Our dreams of producing our PV modules in the U.S. finally come to realization. We are proud of bringing our manufacturing excellence to our most important solar market, creating jobs, and making a positive impact on North Carolina’s economy. We are committed to expanding solar as a widely used renewable energy source in the U.S. and delivering locally made, top-performing PV modules to accelerate the advent of the global renewable revolution,” said Jimmy Xie, general manager of Boviet Solar. 

New positions being created by the company will range from engineers and production workers to administrative and management personnel with annual wages exceeding the Pitt County average salary of $50,937.

Boviet Solar’s project will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $2.9 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of almost $8.3 million spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 47 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $1.47 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.