Vietnamese solar company to create 900 jobs, invest $294 million in Pitt County

A Vietnamese solar-energy technology company plans to create 908 jobs in Pitt County as part of a $294 million expansion, state commerce officials said Friday. It's one of the biggest jobs announcement in the state so far this year and, according to local officials, the biggest economic development in Pitt County history.

Boviet Solar, which makes solar panels and photovoltaic cells for residential and commercial customers, plans to build its first North American plant in Greenville. The investment is expected to be made by the end of 2027, according to state Commerce Department officials, who discussed the project during a meeting of the department’s Economic Investment Committee. The factory will produce high-end solar panels for the U.S. market.

Commerce officials approved an incentives package worth up to $16.4 million, including a jobs development grant of up to $8.3 million. The money is to be paid out in installments over 12 years if the company hits hiring targets. The state incentives are in addition to $18 million in county and municipal incentives, officials said. The project is expected to grow the state’s economy by $3 billion over the next 12 years, state officials said.

Friday’s announcement is the latest to illustrate how pockets of the state’s economy are evolving as North Carolina recruits companies in the clean energy, biotechnology and aerospace sectors.

“The evolution of Greenville as a community is parallel to what we've seen across the state,” Jordan Whichard, chief deputy secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, said Friday during an event in Greenville. “From an economy once dependent on agriculture and tobacco, Pitt County and Greenville have transformed into an economy that is supported by medicine and advanced manufacturing and clean energy jobs.”

Since 2017, the state has announced at least 17,500 jobs focused on energy efficiency or producing products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Those jobs have been tied to projects that have brought more than $22.1 billion in capital investment to the state, according to commerce officials.

Boviet considered locations in Phoenix and Atlanta. It was attracted to Pitt County in part due to the lower cost of real estate, affordable labor costs, infrastructure and incentives, commerce officials said.

“We know that companies like Boviet Solar can choose to locate anywhere in the world, but they chose us,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday during the Greenville event, where he touted efforts to offer infrastructure and a workforce that would entice advanced manufacturers.

The average annual salary for Boviet's planned positions — including engineers, production workers and administrative and management personnel — is expected to be just north of $52,879. That's 4% above the average annual wage in Pitt County, officials said.

"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," Jimmy Xie, general manager of Boviet Solar, said in a statement. "We are committed to expanding solar as a widely used renewable energy source in the U.S."

Luring clean energy jobs

Clean energy companies have flocked to North Carolina in recent years due in part to efforts by the state.

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast is building a 780,000-square-foot plant in Moncure, where it plans to create thousands of jobs. In 2022, state officials approved $1.2 billion in incentives for the project, which was estimated to grow the state’s economy by at least $71.59 billion over 32 years. The company has since scaled back its initial plans.

In October, Toyota said it would more than double the size of a massive electric vehicle battery factory the automaker has been building in Randolph County. The company’s $14 billion factory, which is between Greensboro and Pittsboro, is expected to eventually employ more than 5,000 people. The state offered hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives for that project — an investment that has spurred residual growth of contractors and services in the area.

A Fujihatsu & Toyotsu Battery Components, a partnership between Fujihatsu Tech America and Toyota Tsusho America, said in February it would create 133 new jobs at a new electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Liberty. FTBC is investing $60 million in the project, which will support Toyota’s battery manufacturing unit.

Also in February, Siemens Energy said it plans to add 559 jobs and invest almost $150 million in North Carolina over the next five years. The project — expected to grow the state’s economy by $1.63 billion — would establish in Mecklenburg County the company’s first U.S. manufacturing site for large power transformers, helping the U.S. expand the electrical grid to incorporate more renewable energy. The state approved an economic incentives package worth at least $9.3 million for that expansion.

“As we continue to transition to a clean energy economy, we are committed to being first in talent and providing the research and workforce training partnerships that innovative companies need for today and tomorrow,” state Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a statement.