Silfab Solar update: Work resumes after federal, state officials visit site

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:00 a.m. March 10, 2026

Silfab Solar resumed operations Monday night around 8 p.m. at its Fort Mill plant, after the site was temporarily closed down in the wake of two chemical releases reported at its facility last week.

State and federal environmental regulators were reviewing the 7149 Logistics Lane site Monday. Silfab, a Canadian solar panel manufacturer, paused production over the weekend after pressure from state and federal officials related to last week’s events.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services said it “observed no indication that assembly operations should remain paused.” The agency did an onsite assessment of the Silfab site Monday, supported by an inspector with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Monitoring equipment at one of Silfab’s external buildings activated an internal alarm Monday night, according to a company statement, which caused a neighbor to call 911. Law enforcement was dispatched to the site, according to the statement, but it was determined there was no public safety or employee health concern.

On March 3, Silfab reported a 300-gallon spill of water containing potassium hydroxide. Two days later, York County reported a leak that Silfab described as a drip from a hydrofluoric acid holding tank the company received the week of Feb. 23.

Neither incident posed a health threat to the public or Silfab employees, according to Silfab and York County.

Silfab’s operations has been a hotly debated topic in York County for several years, largely due to its location near Flint Hill Elementary School. The Fort Mill School District closed the school Thursday and Friday last week as local, state and federal officials weighed in on new debate related to Silfab’s location, and reopened it Monday.

Silfab resumed assembly operations Monday night, the state said, but manufacturing at the site has not yet begun “and will remain stopped until further assessment.”

SC environmental regulators provide Silfab update

Silfab has been conducting assembly operations at the site for the past six months, the state DES said.

The assembly work does not involve chemicals regulated under the EPA’s Risk Management Program. Silfab recently brought potassium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid onsite as part of preparations to begin manufacturing that requires chemical deliveries or abatement.

Silfab agreed not to begin manufacturing work until it enters into a compliance agreement that contains requirements from an earlier SCDES directive that includes:

• Retain a professional engineer with expertise in evaluating chemical systems and equipment leaks, and provide evaluation results to SCDES.
• Notify the agency as soon as reasonably possible of any future leaks of any chemical from any piping or tank system.

At the Silfab plant, there is a tank containing hydrogen fluoride that is dripping at a rate of one drop per hour, according to the state. The drip is being neutralized and contained using three separate containment measures. Silfab is beginning the process of emptying the HF tank, the state said.

Silfab Solar statement on resuming Fort Mill operations

Silfab released its own statement Monday night: “Silfab thanks the EPA, DES and (York) county officials on site today and will continue to work with the authorities as appropriate.” The company said it hired TRC Companies, a third-party engineering firm that also participated in the Monday review by environmental officials. In consultation with TRC, Silfab said it was “bringing module and cell assembly production activities back online.”

A ‘rapidly evolving’ situation for Silfab

On Friday, Silfab announced plans to resume operations at 7 p.m. Monday once reviews by the EPA and SCDES were complete. The actual start time was just an hour later than Silfab had anticipated.

S.C. Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson told The Herald Monday morning that details are still “rapidly evolving” related to Silfab.

Wilson spoke with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Friday to request that agency get to Fort Mill as soon as possible.

Silfab’s operation involves two parts, Wilson said. There’s a manufacturing piece that requires chemicals like potassium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid. Then there’s an assembly component, he said, that doesn’t require chemicals.

The state environmental agency stated Silfab should stop accepting chemicals following the initial spill last week, then ordered Silfab to cease operations until an investigation is completed, after the second incident. Wilson also requested that the assembly piece not resume until the EPA was present on site.

“Our No. 1 goal is to get answers to all the questions and pursue every option to make sure that community is safe,” Wilson said.

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 11:29 AM.