Jacksonville City Council OKs $3.4M for Chinese solar manufacturer

Plant to set up in Cecil Commerce Center, pledges 200 jobs by end of 2019

Man installing alternative energy photovoltaic solar panels on roof

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City Council members unanimously approved nearly $3.4 million of financial incentives Tuesday for JinkoSolar Industries Inc. to set up a solar panel manufacturing facility on Jacksonville's Westside, Jacksonville Daily Record reported.

JinkoSolar pledged to hire 200 employees at an average salary of $45,562 by year-end 2019. The economic development agreement between the company and the city was approved without discussion.

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“This is probably one of the biggest things we’ve ever done,” Council Vice President Aaron Bowman told the Daily Record. “It may not be the biggest project, but Jinko is probably the No. 1 or No.  2 solar company in the world, and they chose Jacksonville.”

The company agreed to lease most of a 407,435-square-foot building at Cecil Commerce Center and plans to $50.5 million in the facility.

JinkoSolar, a subsidiary of a Shanghai, China-based company, would be the first Chinese company to establish a U.S. solar-product operation after President Donald Trump approved a 30 percent tariff in January on imported solar panel technology, the Daily Record reported.