FORT MILL, S.C. — On Thursday, WCNC Charlotte got an inside look at Silfab Solar, a solar panel manufacturing plant in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Residents in the area have said they are not on board with the location due to concerns about the plant's potential health and safety impacts on the area.
WCNC Charlotte's Austin Walker took the residents' questions to Silfab Solar's COO Treff MacDonald.
Some residents in the area have compared the plant to a different manufacturing plant in York County - one that residents say has put their health in jeopardy from the chemicals they use and release.
Why Fort Mill?
MacDonald said they have a plant in Washington and are looking to expand to the Southeast Region. He said they looked at Tennessee, Georgia, and both of the Carolinas, but York County was picked due to county incentives and proximity to a major city.
The location is also off a highway and would be easy to transport.
Can a manufacturing plant be built next to a school?
Residents said they are fearful of having the plant next to Fort Mill Schools. COO Treff MacDonald said there's misinformation on the timeline of the events.
“We didn’t locate next to a school, a school located next to our desired and planned location," MacDonald said.
According to zoning reports, in 2017, Fort Mill Schools purchased a plot of land. It's important to note that, at the time, it was zoned as light industrial (LI). A school can not be built on LI-zoned land.
In Dec. of 2022, Silfab Solar got the green light on their plot of plant located next to Fort Mill Schools' plot.
In March of 2023, a few months later, York County approved a re-zoning application for Fort Mill Schools' plot of land from LI. This would allow the schools to build a school on the land.
According to the documents, while the district bought the land first, plans for Silfab Solar were approved first.
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Should I be worried about my safety?
Residents said they have been worried about the chemicals Silfab Solar would be using. Silane is a very flammable and poisonous gas and hydrofluoric acid is a toxic chemical.
Residents said they've seen trucks carrying these chemicals into the plant. WCNC Charlotte took an exclusive look inside the plant. Machines were wrapped up and no manufacturing was taking place. No chemicals were in sight.
MacDonald said it will be using those chemicals when they start production by the end of 2024.
"We use silane and hydrofluoric acid in the assembly process," MacDonald said.
Silane is sandwiched inside the panels.
"There is a commentary that silane is highly combustible, and if a car backfires in this parking lot or if a cigarette is exposed, it’s going to happen. No, that’s not the case. It’s a fully contained process from front to back.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, while it is flammable, it's found in everyday products like paint and ink.
He added hydrofluoric acid is used to wipe the panels. He said the chemical is diluted.
"These materials are in the environment that people deal with," MacDonald said. "They are not used to them outside of a sellable name or marketable name and in a trade name, maybe it sparks fear.”
The NIH added hydrofluoric acid can be found in car wash products and in something that might be under your sink; Rust stain remover.
Will there be a smoke stack?
There's been a flyer circulating on social media. It shows Silfab Solar with a 70-foot smoke stack and billowing smoke.
MacDonald said there would not be a smoke stack. Like any plant, there will be a release from production into the air.
The EPA said there will be exhaust that comes out of the top of a wet scrubber. It is used a as big filter. If someone sees something rising from the roof, it is water vapor.
Will Silfab Solar stay?
Many out-of-town businesses will come to an area, use the area and then leave. Many residents wondered if this would be the plant's forever home.
"We will be here, we will be one of the winners and be a leader in North American manufacturing," MacDonald said. "We are your neighbor. We are new and you are not used to us. We want people to understand what we do. We want to create jobs and opportunities here."
Will Silfab change zoning in the future?
Right now, Silfab Solar is zoned for Light Industrial. Many residents fear that could change in the future.
"We don't need to," MacDonald said. "We put the panels together. We don't make the raw materials."
There have also been questions on how the plant can operate next to schools. WCNC Charlotte has sent in requests to confirm the timeline on who was approved first. We will update you when we hear back.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.