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Government officials in York County, South Carolina briefly suspended work on Silfab Solar‘s controversial new manufacturing facility last week after receiving reports that employees not involved in permitted construction work were discovered at the facility.
York County, S.C. public information officer Greg Suskin told a local television station “the fire marshal and building inspector visited the site on Monday night (and) discovered Silfab employees there who are not involved in the ongoing permitted construction.”
“That is a violation because the company does not have a certificate of occupancy for the building,” Suskin continued, adding that “the county has issued a stop work order which has been posted on the premises.”
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The Canadian-based solar panel manufacturer has drawn sustained criticism from members of the community opposed to its construction of a facility using potentially dangerous chemicals in an area zoned for light industrial use.
After being approved to begin construction at its current location, Silfab solar lost a unanimous board of zoning appeals decision which determined the facility didn’t fall under the county’s light manufacturing zoning requirements. Still, construction continued as county officials argued only a judge had the authority to revoke previously issued permits. A case to decide the legality of the construction is currently pending in the Palmetto State’s sixteenth circuit.
Upon receiving a tip warning of non-permitted work taking place at the facility, county officials visited last Monday (June 23, 2025) and issued the stop work order – telling Silfab its construction employees could return to work if they passed a subsequent inspection.
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Unsurprisingly, the non-permitted workers were not present when county officials returned on Friday of that week (June 27, 2025) for a follow-up inspection.
“On June 27, York County returned to Silfab Solar to verify corrections,” the company said in a statement. “The County confirmed that the items required were completed. The Stop Work Order issued on June 24 has been lifted, work on Silfab Solar’s new facility has resumed.”
Suskin told FITSNews a fine was not assessed for the transgression “as the building contractor met the requirements in the stop work order to have it lifted.”
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In a May 2025 interview with FITSNews, Silfab director of operations Greg Basden said he anticipated production of panels and photovoltaic cells at the plant to begin “very soon.”
“Right now we have a little over 200 people, and we’ll be ramping up quickly to about 800 over the next three or four months… production is right around the corner,” Basden said at the time.
It appears Silfab may have added a few of these employees ahead of schedule…
Count on FITSNews to continue to report on Silfab Solar. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the latest updates. Those with information relevant to this story are encouraged to email Dylan@FITSNews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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