Solar panel plant coming to eastern North Carolina with 900 jobs

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A Vietnamese-based company will build its first North American solar panel manufacturing plant in eastern North Carolina, creating over 900 jobs, officials announced on Friday.

Boviet Solar along with Gov. Roy Cooper and other government officials revealed at an East Carolina University news conference the company’s plans to invest almost $300 million in a 1 million square-foot (304,800 square-meter) advanced manufacturing facility in Greenville.

Founded in 2013, Boviet makes solar panels and photovoltaic cells that are already used in the U.S. by commercial, industrial and residential customers, Cooper’s office said in a news release. Boviet also has offices in Germany, China and the U.S., according to a company fact sheet.

The plant in Greenville, located 85 miles (137 kilometers) east of Raleigh, will help build company capacity worldwide for high-end solar panels and photovoltaic modules, a Cooper news release said.