The Jacksonville City Council has withdrawn a bill that would have awarded JinkoSolar U.S. $2.6 million in tax incentives in the wake of reports that federal officials served a search warrant May 8 at the company’s West Jacksonville facility.
The Council voted 18-0 on June 13 without discussion to pull the bill from consideration. The legislation had been postponed the day after the reported federal activity.
Resolution 2023-0276, introduced April 25, would have provided JinkoSolar a maximum $2.3 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant for what the city Office of Economic Development said was a planned $52 million investment in building improvements, machinery and equipment at the plant that would have created 250 jobs by Dec. 31, 2026.
Council member Rory Diamond was absent for the vote.
In a statement June 13, JinkoSolar U.S. said:
“Jacksonville is home to our nearly 300,000 square foot facility, which has supported 280 local jobs for the past five years. We will continue with our investment of more than $50 million and create an additional 250 new jobs. We look forward to engaging with our local community in the years to come.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal agents were assisting the Department of Homeland Security with the execution of a search warrant.
Homeland Security did not disclose the reason for the warrant but said it is part of an ongoing investigation.
“Jinko, through external counsel, is engaging constructively with relevant agencies to understand the nature of the inquiry, and the company’s business operations are running normally, including in Jacksonville,” JinkoSolar U.S. said in a statement May 10.
“JinkoSolar is committed to operating in accordance with the highest ethical standards and to the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, including the United States,” the company said.
According to Reuters, a search warrant also was served May 9 at JinkoSolar’s California property.
JinkoSolar has a U.S. sales and operations center in San Francisco.
JinkoSolar opened its solar panel manufacturing plant at Cecil Commerce Center in 2018 and wants to expand its operation.
It is owned by a company in Shanghai, China, and the Jacksonville location was the first plant to open in the United States. It is the company’s only U.S. manufacturing plant.
In November, Reuters reported that solar energy equipment, including from JinkoSolar, was seized because of concerns that components were produced using forced labor in violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
In March, Reuters reported that JinkoSolar’s equipment was released from detention.
The Recapture Enhanced Value Grant in the bill withdrawn June 13 would have been equal to 50% of the increase in ad valorem taxes paid by JinkoSolar over the first 10 years, with a maximum $2.3 million payout.
A city project summary and legislation fact sheet says JinkoSolar has 274 employees at its plant at 4660 POW-MIA Memorial Parkway, Suite 200, in AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center.
China-based JinkoSolar opened the 283,652-square-foot facility in the fourth quarter of 2018 to make solar panels for residential and commercial uses across the United States.
Advanced manufacturing robots at the JinkoSolar (U.S.) plant in Jacksonville place strings of solar cells onto a specialized backing that form the base of a completed solar panel.
Under a previous economic development agreement with Council Ordinance 2018-149-A, JinkoSolar committed to create 250 jobs and to invest $40 million.