York County residents take final, long-shot move to stop $150M solar panel manufacturer

Some York County residents still hope to stop the $150 million Silfab Solar panel manufacturing site in Fort Mill amid concerns of child safety and potentially dangerous chemicals. But they have a high bar to clear.

The York County Board of Zoning Appeals meets Thursday night in York. The only item on that agenda is an appeal of a prior decision that allowed the solar panel manufacturer to operate on Logistics Lane.

Online, many people have taken the opportunity to rally against the company.

A private Fort Mill Community group on Facebook has several Silfab posts with about 50 combined comments. Community pages in Regent Park, Rock Hill and Indian Land have posts with dozens more shares and comments. An online petition opposing the plant has almost 1,500 signatures.

A Moms for Liberty page in York County asks people to turn out Thursday, as do numerous individual pages of people concerned with Silfab.

The most commonly shared image is a smokestack with a call to attend Thursday’s meeting in opposition to the light industrial zoning designation at the Silfab site. The image claims dangerous chemicals — specified in some posts as toluene, hydrogen flouride and silane — would be stored and emitted beside two new Fort Mill schools under construction.

Silfab referred questions on environmental impact to The Herald to the website it set up to offer details on York County plans, silfabsolarsc.com. The company doesn’t create hazardous waste, greenhouse gas or toxic waste emissions, according to the site.

What is Silfab, and how did it get here?

Early last year, The Herald reported York County had a proposed tax incentive agreement with a company set to bring 800 jobs and a $150 million investment. The company hadn’t been named publicly but the Herald reported Canadian solar manufacturer Silfab, Inc. was looking to come to 7149 Logistics Lane, based on an application to the state economic development council.

In March 2023, residents near the site formed a line at a council meeting to tell York County Council why they had concerns about Silfab. Traffic topped the list, but company wages and environmental impact near proposed school sites also came up at the time.

The two council members who serve districts closest to or including the project voted against the incentive deal last fall. It eventually passed by a 4-3 vote.

Three properties on Logistics Lane, including the Silfab site, sold in early October for $106 million. It’s the largest sale ever listed in online county land records. Two warehouse buildings at more than 70 acres combine for more than 1 million square feet of space.

A $106 million sale sets new high mark for properties in the Rock Hill region

The Stateline 77 building, the larger of the two warehouses, includes the Silfab property.

What does the Silfab appeal mean?

Wally Buchanan, one of many residents who spoke out against the Silfab plan last year, asked the county for several clarifications on its zoning code pertaining to the site. In February, the county responded to Buchanan. In March, he filed an appeal which is the basis of Thursday’s meeting.

The appeal seeks to have solar panel manufacturing listed as a heavy industrial use instead of a light industrial one. The property allows for light industrial uses now but not heavy industrial ones. The appeal also argues solar panel manufacturing isn’t specifically named among property uses allowed at the site, so it shouldn’t be allowed.

County staff contends solar manufacturing falls within computer and electronics manufacturing. That property use is allowed on the site.

For the appeal to be granted, the zoning board would have to take the unusual step of deciding county planners made a mistake in how they lumped solar panel manufacturing in with computers and electronics.

Buchanan also pointed to a section of county code stating there should be no fume, vapor or gas emission that can caused damage to health or animals. The county responded that a property owner is required to meet that standard but it isn’t used to stop a company from locating in York County.

While county council and its planning commission can make changes to what’s in zoning districts, there’s only one decision the Board of Zoning Appeals could make that would prohibit Silfab from operating on its site, according to county staff. The zoning board would have to determine county planners were wrong in considering solar panel manufacturing a part of computer and electronics manufacturing.

If the board were to do so, it could list solar panel manufacturing under another usage or find that it doesn’t meet anything defined in the zoning code. That latter option would prohibit solar panel manufacturing in the county.

Environmental concern stirs residents

Silfab is the latest of several area companies to face public concern on how it might impact the environment.

Before 2021, residents across the region complained about odors coming from the New-Indy Catawba paper mill near Rock Hill, before the federal Environmental Health Agency and state health department issued orders to control emissions. But the most similar case may involve a Fort Mill gas station.

A 7-Eleven gas station opened on Fort Mill Parkway in 2020. Parents at the adjacent Doby’s Bridge Elementary School protested at town council and planning commission meetings and in the school drop-off line. Some ran for mayor and Fort Mill Town Council seats on platforms that elected officials hadn’t done anything to stop the gas station.

Those parents expressed concern that fumes from the gas station would be harmful, as it came up against outside play areas for children.

Now, the Fort Mill School District has two schools — one elementary, one middle — under construction beside the Silfab site. Most of the online posts calling for a big turnout Thursday night note the schools as a prime reason for concern.

Charlotte resident Ragan Schneider said via email Tuesday the issue is of broad interest. The Silfab site is fewer than 2 miles to Carowinds. With a family that visits the area regularly, Schneider said the level of care for health and safety in the area is concerning.

“This looks to be such a regressive and short-sighted move motivated by the potential for economic gain,” Schneider said.

Silfab’s response

The silfabsolarsc.com site includes answers to a handful of questions, including a few related to the environment.

That site likens the Silfab process to computer chip manufacturing, with self-contained clean rooms and air filtration systems for safety.

“Our manufacturing process does not result in greenhouse gas emissions or toxic waste emissions,” the company stated. “Most of the materials used in the manufacturing process are consumed into the cell.”

Any excess material is neutralized and treated according to federal and state health guidelines, according to the company.

No hazardous waste is created, and any water discharged from a facility will undergo periodic third-party testing to ensure it meets state and county thresholds for cleanliness, the company stated.