Boviet Photo voltaic held a celebratory ribbon-cutting this week for its 2-GW photo voltaic panel meeting facility in Greenville, North Carolina. The plant, which began fine-tuning its traces just a few weeks in the past, was touted as a producing success story for jap North Carolina by the various native and state representatives in attendance, in addition to Democratic state Gov. Josh Stein. Additionally in attendance have been Boviet’s international common supervisor Zhaochun Xie and Sienna Cen, president of Boviet Photo voltaic USA.
Manufacturing at Boviet Photo voltaic’s North Carolina photo voltaic panel meeting web site. Credit score: SPW
The panel manufacturing unit, which has already employed 370 workers, will make each mono- and bifacial photo voltaic panels for the U.S. market. Mixed with beneficiant state incentives, Boviet invested almost $300 million to renovate an present 521,460-ft2 constructing in Indigreen Company Park. The corporate can also be constructing a second 500,000-ft2 manufacturing unit subsequent door that can manufacture 3 GW of photo voltaic cells yearly. Boviet has damaged floor on the cell manufacturing unit and plans to start manufacturing within the second half of 2026. When each campuses are completed, Boviet says it would make use of 1,300 individuals in Greenville.
I want I may say extra about my go to to the panel manufacturing unit, nevertheless it’s surprisingly getting routine — by no means thought I’d say that, reporting on the U.S. photo voltaic panel manufacturing market. The meeting traces have been operating, and the workers knew their roles. Issues are already trying like a well-oiled machine, and that’s all you possibly can ask for as the USA shortly scales its photo voltaic manufacturing capability.
I talked to many EPCs and installers in attendance on the ribbon slicing, they usually all stated the identical factor: Boviet is a constant and dependable firm that they’ve constructed nice relationships with. They’re excited for this new manufacturing unit in the USA, however they’re extra excited for the cell manufacturing unit to get going to allow them to entry further home content material incentives.
Boviet Photo voltaic was based in Vietnam in 2013 and presently helps a cell and panel manufacturing outfit there. Though not based with Chinese language ties, Boviet is now a subsidiary of Chinese language supplies producer Ningbo Boway Alloy Supplies Co. A couple of dozen Boviet hires from Greenville went to Vietnam for six weeks to study the meeting line operations. A lot of these supervisors and operators led excursions of the in-production manufacturing unit through the ribbon-cutting occasion.
The present photo voltaic panel manufacturing unit was as soon as residence to DENSO Manufacturing, which made engines for windshield wipers, digital home windows and different automotive parts. When the corporate left Greenville in 2023, 475 individuals misplaced their jobs. Boviet is dedicated to investing within the Greenville group and employed a lot of these former DENSO workers. With much more workers wanted for the cell manufacturing plant, Boviet can have a significant presence within the metropolis.
America is clamoring for home photo voltaic cells, and Boviet will profit from its personal home provide. Boviet’s Vietnamese photo voltaic panels have been excluded from tariffs initiated within the first AD/CVD case on Southeast Asian photo voltaic imports in 2023, however the imports can be tariffed below the second AD/CVD spherical. Commerce simply introduced its final tariff amounts, and Boviet’s Vietnamese cells and panels face a 307.78% tariff. That implies that the cells Boviet imports from its personal manufacturing unit in Vietnam for panels being assembled in North Carolina can have the next tariff than most. The second half of 2026 can’t come quickly sufficient.
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