Congresswoman Nancy Mace met in a closed-door session with Move Silfab on Thursday, the grassroots organisation that has been campaigning for the removal of Silfab Solar’s manufacturing facility from Fort Mill, South Carolina. The meeting, which lasted approximately one and a half hours, came in the wake of two separate chemical spill incidents at the plant within a single week, incidents that forced the closure of Flint Hill Elementary School and prompted state orders for the facility to cease all operations.
The controversy centres on a spill of up to 1,500 gallons of water containing potassium hydroxide on March 3, followed days later by a hydrofluoric acid release on March 5. The company delayed informing the public about the first incident for six days, a decision that drew fierce criticism from local parents, state legislators, and federal officials. Silfab Solar has disputed the scale of the original spill, suggesting it was closer to 300 gallons, and has maintained that its operations do not pose a health risk to the surrounding community or environment.
Mace has taken a prominent role in the federal response, writing to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in March to demand immediate intervention. She has called on the company to remain closed until the cause of both spills is fully explained and independent verification of community safety is provided. A court hearing related to the ongoing litigation is scheduled for May 26.
Scott Jensen, a spokesperson for Move Silfab, echoed the call for regulatory clarity at a federal and state level, arguing that local zoning and permitting frameworks have been inadequate to manage the risks posed by the facility. The plant sits a few hundred yards from Flint Hill Elementary, separated only by a tree line, a proximity that parents and campaigners argue is incompatible with the hazardous chemicals used in solar panel manufacturing.
Silfab continues to defend its record, asserting that spills were contained and that it operates to industry safety standards. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services halted operations while investigations continued. The story sits at the intersection of renewable energy manufacturing, community safety regulation, and political accountability, with Mace framing it as emblematic of industrial development being prioritised over neighbourhood protection.
