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Reddy Report

Economic Development Deal Gone Wrong, Just the Facts on Silfab Solar

The congressional solar advocate. The family real estate empire. The nine-day gap. The chemical leak next to an elementary school. And the whistleblower who got fired.

R
Rhetor
April 2, 2026

Federal Records Tell a Different Story.

The congressional solar advocate. The family real estate empire. The nine-day gap. The chemical leak next to an elementary school. And the whistleblower who got fired.

Rep. Ralph Norman wants to be governor of South Carolina. His slogan is “Term limits. Clean up Columbia.” His first TV ad is called “Crooks.”

The primary is June 9.

Here is what federal records show.

THE BUSINESS

Norman spent 40 years in commercial real estate. His family firm, the Warren Norman Company, manages more than $150 million in property across York County and Fort Mill, S.C. 1 The company’s own website says Norman “spearheaded all aspects of the company’s core commercial and residential real estate development for four decades.” 2

In 2022, Silfab Solar, a Canadian manufacturer, leased a warehouse in Fort Mill’s industrial zone — in the same Gold Hill Road corridor adjacent to Norman family landholdings. Silfab has invested more than $150 million in the facility and employs about 800 workers. 3

At a public forum in August 2024, Norman told constituents he “wouldn’t have a reservation owning or developing property in the area because of Silfab being there.” 4 That is not a safety assessment. It is a property developer evaluating neighborhood desirability.

THE CAUCUS

Norman co-founded the Bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus in February 2018 and has co-chaired it since. 5 It is the only congressional body dedicated to promoting the U.S. solar industry.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) spent $1.87 million lobbying Congress in 2024, targeting legislation that funds the manufacturing tax credit Silfab uses. 6 Norman serves on the House Budget Committee — a direct SEIA lobbying target. He is the solar industry’s top Republican advocate in Congress, a Budget Committee member receiving that industry’s lobbying pressure and a real estate developer whose family corridor Silfab anchors.

THE VOTE

On May 13, 2025, Silfab announced it had sold $110 million in Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits. 7

Nine days later, Norman voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 8

The bill passed 215 to 214. Norman was a hold-out who had voted against earlier versions. He switched to yes on final passage May 22. 9

The OBBBA preserved the 45X manufacturing credit for solar component makers. It eliminated the same credit for wind energy. It added restrictions for companies tied to China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Canada is not on that list. 10 Silfab’s $110 million in credits survived.

THE FOREIGN GOVERNMENT CONNECTION

Two of Silfab’s investors are instruments of the Canadian government.

BDC Capital, a Silfab co-investor, is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. 11 The Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, another co-investor, is an Ontario provincial Crown corporation pension fund. 12

A U.S. congressman co-chairing federal solar advocacy voted to preserve $110 million in tax credits. The company holding those credits is backed by two foreign government entities. Records show his family’s real estate sits in the corridor that company anchors. Norman has not issued a public statement addressing the conflict.

WHAT HE SAID AT THE FORUM

On Aug. 27, 2024, Norman told hundreds of constituents at Catawba Ridge High School that Silfab had “gone through all the steps to get their permits.” 13

Three months earlier, the York County Board of Zoning Appeals had ruled unanimously — 5 to 0 — that solar cell manufacturing was prohibited under the facility’s Light Industrial zoning and that county staff had made an error in approving it. 14

Norman’s statement directly contradicted the regulatory record. He made it in front of hundreds of constituents who had no way to know.

THE CHEMICALS

Flint Hill Elementary School opened in August 2025. It sits less than 1,000 feet from Silfab’s facility. 15 Hydrofluoric acid was delivered to the plant Feb. 23, 2026. A minor leak started immediately. Silfab did not report it. 16

On March 3, 300 gallons of potassium hydroxide spilled. Hazmat crews responded. The S.C. Department of Environmental Services halted incoming chemical shipments. 17 On March 5, the hydrofluoric acid leak was reported. Silfab confirmed it had been leaking since Feb. 23. SCDES ordered all operations to cease. Flint Hill Elementary closed. 18

Hydrofluoric acid is classified by the EPA as an Extremely Hazardous Substance. University of South Carolina researchers, commissioned by concerned residents, modeled worst-case dispersion scenarios. They found results that could be “deadly in the red zones.”

The day before SCDES issued its cease order, Norman released a press statement. He asked the EPA to audit the facility. In the same statement, he called IRA subsidies “the Green New Scam.” He did not call for Silfab to relocate or shut down. 19

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., sent Silfab a letter demanding full compliance, vowing “not to move on until we have the full truth.” AG Alan Wilson called publicly for Silfab to “immediately shut down their operations.” 20 Norman called for an audit.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Jason Rhoades has 30 years of quality control experience. Silfab hired him as a QC technician in early 2025.

In June 2025, he contacted Fort Mill’s Senior Fire Marshal after finding workers inside the facility without a Certificate of Occupancy, with blocked exits and no working fire alarms or sprinklers. Inspectors arrived unannounced. York County issued a stop-work order. 21 Fourteen days later, Silfab fired him.

He sued. A court denied Silfab’s motion to dismiss in December 2025. 22 His amended complaint alleges Silfab management sent workers home when county inspectors were expected, to make the building appear unoccupied. That allegation survived. The case is active. 23

THE “CROOKS” AD

On March 23, 2026, Norman launched his first TV ad of the governor’s race. He called it “Crooks.” It attacks corruption in Columbia. “Lawmakers voted to give themselves a pay raise,” he says in the ad, “paid for with your tax dollars.” 24

He launched it 18 days after Flint Hill Elementary closed because of a chemical leak at the plant in his district. He launched it 10 months after his decisive vote preserved $110 million in federal credits for that same plant.

His primary opponent, AG Wilson, is simultaneously investigating Silfab’s zoning approval in York County. 25

WHAT VOTERS SEE ON JUNE 9

Norman is asking South Carolina Republicans to make him governor. His platform is anti-corruption.

Federal records show he co-chairs the only congressional body dedicated to promoting solar energy. His family company manages $150 million in real estate in the same corridor Silfab anchors. Nine days after Silfab announced a $110 million federal credit sale, he cast a vote that preserved the mechanism behind it. Three months before his 2024 forum, a county board ruled unanimously against Silfab’s permits. He told constituents the opposite.

The June 9 primary is 68 days away.

Rep. Norman’s public record is available at norman.house.gov. Citizens with evidence of a federal ethics conflict can file formally with the House Office of Congressional Ethics at oce.house.gov. 26

SOURCES

Footnotes

  1. Warren Norman Company. LoopNet Company Profile. https://www.loopnet.com/company/warren-norman-company/rock-hill-sc/e3cq82pl/ ↩

  2. Warren Norman Company. “Team.” warrennorman.com. https://www.warrennorman.com/team/ ↩

  3. Silfab Solar. “Silfab Solar Raises $100 Million to Scale Its Cell Manufacturing Facility in Fort Mill, S.C.” Nov. 2024. https://silfabsolar.com/silfab-solar-raises-100-million-to-scale-its-cell-manufacturing-facility-in-fort-mill-s-c/ ↩

  4. Post and Courier. “Raucous Fort Mill Meeting Over Solar Panel Plans Leaves Many Unhappy.” Aug. 28, 2024. https://www.yahoo.com/news/waste-time-raucous-fort-mill-145826897.html ↩

  5. PV Magazine USA. “Bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus Coalesces After Tariff Decision.” Feb. 20, 2018. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2018/02/20/bipartisan-congressional-solar-caucus-coalesces-after-tariff-decision/ ↩

  6. OpenSecrets. “Solar Energy Industries Association — Lobbying.” 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/solar-energy-industries-assn/lobbying?id=D000029109 ↩

  7. Silfab Solar. “Silfab Solar Signs $110 Million 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit Transfer Sale.” May 13, 2025. https://silfabsolar.com/silfab-solar-signs-110-million-45x-advanced-manufacturing-tax-credit-transfer-sale/ ↩

  8. U.S. House of Representatives Clerk. Roll Call Vote 145, 119th Congress. May 22, 2025. https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025145 ↩

  9. Wikipedia. “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Accessed April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act ↩

  10. Miller & Chevalier. “OBBBA Brings 45X Changes, Though Not Wholesale Repeal.” Aug. 6, 2025. https://www.millerchevalier.com/publication/obbba-brings-45x-changes-though-not-wholesale-repeal ↩

  11. Business Development Bank of Canada. “About BDC.” bdc.ca. https://www.bdc.ca/en/about/who-we-are ↩

  12. Silfab Solar. “Silfab Solar Secures Strategic Growth Investment from ARC Energy Fund.” Sept. 2021. https://silfabsolar.com/silfab-solar-secures-strategic-growth-investment-from-arc-energy-fund/ ↩

  13. WSOC-TV. “How Controversial Solar Manufacturing Facility Could Blur Party Lines in South Carolina.” Oct. 14, 2024. https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/how-controversial-solar-manufacturing-facility-could-blur-party-lines-south-carolina/THIQ56WV35GIBBPJ4ZMAPXNV7Q/ ↩

  14. Post and Courier. “Silfab Solar Panel Manufacturing in Fort Mill: Zoning Protest.” May 2024. https://www.postandcourier.com/rock-hill/news/silfab-solar-panel-manufacturing-fort-mill-zoning-protest/article_223f2c74-0ed1-11ef-9091-a3200fb937fc.html ↩

  15. WFAE 90.7. “Silfab Solar’s South Carolina Plant Spills Another Chemical at Its Fort Mill Site, Closing Nearby School.” March 5, 2026. https://www.wfae.org/energy-environment/2026-03-05/silfab-solars-south-carolina-plant-spills-another-chemical-at-its-fort-mill-site-closing-nearby-school ↩

  16. WCNC Charlotte. “South Carolina Officials Issue ‘Total Stop’ for Silfab Solar After Second Chemical Spill.” March 5, 2026. https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/silfab-solar-chemical-incident-fort-mill-school-closed/275-5e4c143b-73cc-461e-ae09-22fe1e4248c9 ↩

  17. S.C. Department of Environmental Services. “Silfab Solar — Community Engagement.” des.sc.gov. https://des.sc.gov/community/community-engagement/environmental-sites-projects/silfab-solar ↩

  18. WBTV. “Silfab Solar Must Cease All Operations at Fort Mill Facility After 2nd Chemical Leak, State Says.” March 5, 2026. https://www.wbtv.com/2026/03/05/silfab-solar-must-cease-all-operations-fort-mill-facility-after-2nd-chemical-leak-state-says/ ↩

  19. Rep. Ralph Norman. “Norman Requests EPA Audit of Silfab Solar.” norman.house.gov. March 4, 2026. https://norman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3429 ↩

  20. FITSNews. “EPA Visits Silfab Solar After Chemical Spills.” March 9, 2026. https://www.fitsnews.com/2026/03/09/epa-visits-silfab-solar-after-chemical-spills/ ↩

  21. WSOC-TV. “Former Silfab Solar Employee Alleges Safety Hazards, Wrongful Termination.” Aug. 1, 2025. https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/former-silfab-solar-employee-alleges-safety-hazards-wrongful-termination/OGMDAQYPFZGXROUC73ISLXNLNA/ ↩

  22. WRHI. “Former Employee Sues Silfab, Alleges Retaliation Over Safety Violations at York County Plant.” July 31, 2025. https://www.wrhi.com/2025/07/former-employee-sues-silfab-alleges-retaliation-over-safety-violations-at-york-county-plant-202343 ↩

  23. WRHI. “Silfab Solar Moves to Strike New Claims in Ongoing Fort Mill Whistleblower Lawsuit.” Feb. 2026. https://www.wrhi.com/2026/02/silfab-solar-moves-to-strike-new-claims-in-ongoing-fort-mill-whistleblower-lawsuit-210068 ↩

  24. FITSNews. “Crossroads 2026: Ralph Norman Blasts Columbia Politicians.” March 23, 2026. https://www.fitsnews.com/2026/03/23/crossroads-2026-ralph-norman-blasts-columbia-politicians/ ↩

  25. WRHI. “Attorney General Alan Wilson Seeks Clarification on Silfab Solar Plant Zoning.” March 2026. https://www.wrhi.com/2026/03/attorney-general-alan-wilson-seeks-clarification-on-silfab-solar-plant-zoning-210843 ↩

  26. House Office of Congressional Ethics. “How to File a Complaint.” oce.house.gov. https://oce.house.gov/how-to-file-a-complaint ↩

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