Chinese company Jinko Solar officially opened its solar photo-voltaic panel production facility in Epping on Tuesday (5 August).
Zille said the company's decision to open its first factory outside of China in the Western Cape was good news for job creation.
"The reason I am excited is this plant will create 250 direct jobs. Other indirect employment opportunities will emerge through the post production installation of water heaters throughout the city and the province," she said.
Zille also said while the opening of the plant was good news as far as investment in the country was concerned, scarce skills were still a challenge and this new plant might alleviate some of the scarce technical skills that face South Africa, particularly as it has not manufactured solar panels in the past.
She pointed out that the Western Cape provincial government had formed a partnership with a local technology tertiary institution to provide local students the opportunity to travel to China and be trained there.
Morgan Peng, Managing Director of Jinko Solar, said the company expects to produce 1,300 solar panels a day resulting in a turnover of about R600m a year.
He said that the solar panels, which are mounted onto the roof of a house or property, are expected to help to reduce some of the load on Eskom's power grid because the plant would produce about 120 MW of electricity by the end of the year.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has welcomed the opening of the plant, saying this once again showcased South Africa as an attractive investment destination.
Speaking on the side-lines of the US-Africa leadership summit in Washington, the minister said his department was proud to have supported the investment by Jinko, since 2012 by reducing red tape and facilitating and supporting the company meet the local content requirements for manufacturing.
Davies said the green economy has been identified as a key focus area in his department's Industrial Policy Action Plan, and provides significant opportunities for job creation, localisation and economic growth.
He added that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) model had developed into a new sector of the manufacturing industry.
According to Davies General Electric and Solar Reserve, have expressed an interest in investing in and expanding the energy sector in South Africa and other parts of Africa in terms of President Barack Obama's Power Africa programme, .
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