A Vietnam-based company will build its first North American solar panel manufacturing plant in eastern North Carolina, creating more than 900 jobs, officials announced Friday.
Bobbiett Solar announced plans to invest nearly $300 million in a 1 million-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Greenville during a press conference at East Carolina University with Gov. Roy Cooper and other government officials.
Cooper’s office said in a news release that Bobiette, founded in 2013, makes solar panels and solar cells that are already being used by commercial, industrial and residential customers in the United States. Bobiette also has offices in Germany, China and the United States, according to a company fact sheet.
Solar panels line the roof of Harmony House as part of a project by Solar Holler of Huntington, West Virginia. (Scholten Singer/Herald, via AP, File)
The Greenville factory, located 135 miles east of Raleigh, will help build production capacity for high-end solar panels and photovoltaic modules around the world, according to a Cooper news release.
“We are proud to bring our manufacturing excellence to the most important solar power market, creating jobs and positively impacting North Carolina’s economy.” CEO Jimmy See was quoted in the governor’s statement.
The 908 jobs expected to be added by 2028 will have an average annual salary of $52,879, slightly above the Pitt County average, according to state Department of Commerce documents.
Bobiette also considered alternative locations for the plant in Phoenix and Atlanta, the documents said.
Early Friday, the state commission approved Boviet to receive up to $8.3 million in cash incentives over 12 years if it meets criteria for job creation and capital investment. Bobiette will receive a total of $34.6 million in state and local grants for the project, according to trade documents.
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Another Vietnamese company, electric car maker VinFast, is building a factory in Chatham County that is expected to create thousands of jobs.
