After years of controversy and a recent court ruling, the Fort Mill School District is asking South Carolina state leaders to intervene and shut down operations at the Silfab Solar manufacturing facility.
The district sent a letter following a South Carolina Circuit Court decision affirming that the facility's solar panel manufacturing operations do not comply with the site's zoning.
In the letter, the district asks Gov. Henry McMaster and other state officials to take “immediate and decisive action” to restrict operations at the facility to those permitted under the site's light industrial zoning designation.
The Fort Mill School Board passed a resolution in March, referenced in last week’s letter, which called on state leaders to “limit the facility’s operations strictly to non-hazardous assembly processes and remove all hazardous chemicals on site in accordance with the facility’s current light industrial zone.”
The Silfab Solar facility has drawn intense scrutiny from nearby residents, in part because of its proximity to Flint Hill Elementary School and Flint Hill Middle School.
Flint Hill Elementary canceled two days of classes in March after a chemical leak at the facility.
The York County Board of Appeals ruled in 2024 that the facility's solar cell manufacturing operations did not comply with zoning requirements. Earlier this month, a judge reaffirmed that decision.
Silfab Solar didn’t immediately respond to WFAE’s request for comment.
