By: Isaac Panzarella, Associate Director, Technical Services

For many years North Carolina has been a leader in solar energy generation, due in a large part to the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard law.  Now, in addition to using solar PV modules here, we have a unique opportunity to use modules that are made here in the state!  I had the pleasure of visiting Boviet Solar, a global solar photovoltaic module manufacturer, at the opening of its first United States manufacturing facility in Greenville, NC in the spring of 2025.  

According to Marco Marques, General Manager of Boviet’s Greenville plant, the plant will initially support up to 450 direct jobs in module assembly, and will later add as many as 900 jobs in solar cell manufacturing, for a total of 1,300 jobs created.

Zhaochun “Jimmy” Xie, CEO of Boviet Solar, told the audience assembled for the opening that the reasons they selected Greenville, North Carolina for their first U.S. manufacturing facility was that our state’s forward looking energy vision, location near point of use and filled workforce.  

Boviet’s initial investment in the facility is close to $200 million, and the ultimate investment will be $294 million.  As we toured the module assembly area, we learned that the two lines have the capacity to produce as many as 10,000 modules per day, for an annual total of 2 gigawatts.  

Governor Josh Stein and other state leaders, including Senator Kandie Smith, and Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley thanked Boviet for selecting North Carolina for this investment.  Senator Smith noted how this investment will increase innovation in North Carolina, support environmental stewardship and help build a sustainable future for generations to come.

Learn more about the new facility here.