Fort Mill Neighbors Protest Silfab Manufacturing Plant

FORT MILL – Residents in Fort Mill are taking to the streets in protests of a new solar panel manufacturing plant coming to York County. This coming after months of back and forth between residents and county officials, as well as staff with the plants parent company, Silfab. 

Scott Jensen has only lived in Fort Mill for two years, and has already become one of the leaders of this movement.

“I started digging into it and learned that York County is basically ignoring the zoning codes and giving approved and issuing permits to Silfab in a light industrial property,” said Jensen. 

York county’s board of zoning appeals voted in may that Silfab could not move into a light industrial district on Logistics Lane.

On June 25th, an unsigned York County management statement said that the decision by the BZA on May 9th did not apply to Silfab.

Residents are also angry after Silfab sent a postcard to all Fort Mill residents. The postcard claims that Silfab is safe, optimized, light, advanced and renewable.  

 “They have never manufactured solar cells before,” says Jensen. “They have three factories, one in Canada and two in Washington state. Those factories are solar module factories. Solar module does not require silane or hydrogen fluoride. They as a company have never worked with those two dangerous chemicals before.”  

The county says Silfab is on its way in the coming months, but these protestors are convinced their efforts will pay off.  

  “We are currently in circuit court and we are hopeful a judge will look at this case soon, and determine that, yes, York County is violating the law by issuing continued permits after the BZA ruling for future development of solar cell manufacturing on a light industrial zoned property,” Jensen says.