Tennessee is working hard to position itself to take advantage of a revolution in manufacturing that could bring thousands of new, high-paying "green energy" jobs in such fields as biofuels, solar and wind energy.
Industries that focus on alternative energy are expanding, despite the recession, and would significantly step up their efforts if the new Obama administration pushes through a proposed economic-stimulus program that would provide billions of dollars to create green jobs.
While competition among states for the new jobs is expected to be fierce, Tennessee already has landed a number of companies involved in sustainable-energy technologies and is well positioned to attract more, according to a University of Tennessee economics expert and officials involved in the state's efforts.
Competition for new green-energy industries comes not only from Tennessee's neighbors such as Alabama and Kentucky, but also from states such as Michigan, which has been pushing clean energy jobs as a way to replace that state's ailing automotive industry, said Matt Kisber, Tennessee commissioner of economic and community development. Canada also is in the forefront of seeking green jobs.
At Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen's urging, the state began a focused campaign to lure green-energy jobs about 15 months ago, and the work already has paid off with the announcement in December that Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. of Michigan would invest $1.2 billion to build a plant in Clarksville to manufacture polysilicon, a key component of solar-electric panels. Initially, the facility would provide 800 jobs, but it could expand significantly.
"Green is a good direction to go," said Bill Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. "It will be a growth industry, especially with the Obama stimulus package.
Tennessee provides an excellent location for the new industries, primarily because of its location and available work force, he said.
The green-energy industry could replace many of the manufacturing jobs the state has lost over the past decade, and they would be high-paying positions in a growing sector, Fox said.
Ecology meets economyBesides attracting the new Clarksville facility, Tennessee has green-energy industries in other locations already, Kisber said.
Among them: In Memphis, Sharp Electronics Corp. builds solar-energy panels; in Chattanooga, Aerisyn Energy builds components for power-generating wind turbines; AGC Flat Glass makes glass for solar panels in Kingsport; and DuPont Danisco Cellulosic LLC, in partnership with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, is building a pilot facility to produce the biofuel ethanol from nonfood sources in Vonore.
"We see this as both an environmental and economic-development opportunity," said Kisber, whose department is leading the efforts to recruit the green-energy jobs. "I believe there is an opportunity for Governor Bredesen and this administration to do for renewable energy the same thing Governor Alexander did with bringing automotive jobs to Tennessee.
"I hope to be able to look back in 10 years and see that this has become as important as the auto industry to the state's economy."
The payoff could be enormous, Kisber said, considering that worldwide, more than $148 billion was invested globally in renewable-energy industries last year alone, and such investment is expected to increase substantially over the next few years.
Growth is being driven by a need to find sources of energy to replace fossil fuels, and in countries such as the United States, to help end dependence on imported oil.
Which industries and companies could be attracted to Tennessee remains to be determined, but "all of them are suitable" for the state, Kisber said.
"Who knows what technology is going to be dominant in the years ahead?" he said. "But we have tried to take inventory of the assets we have to offer, and to look at what would make sense to develop in Tennessee."
Hemlock may be a startWhile the Hemlock project is the largest so far, it could be just the start, said U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who has offered his help to Bredesen and Kisber in efforts to land green-energy jobs.
He was on hand in Clarksville for the Hemlock announcement last month, and he has worked closely with state officials to provide a liaison with Washington and serve as an ambassador for Tennessee in dealing with companies looking to expand their green-energy initiatives.
"There is momentum in our country and around the world for alternative energy," Corker said. "We have a state that embraces that and a governor who is working to attract that, and we have tremendous momentum."
Besides the Clarksville project, the state will have another big green-energy industry to announce "in a few weeks in another part of the state," he said. He declined to name the company or the location, saying he was not at liberty to discuss the project's details.
All of the new green jobs will be a boon to the state because the renewable-energy industry is growing and will continue to do so for decades, Corker said.
"The last thing you want to recruit is some entity that is dying out," he said. "What you want to do is look for growth opportunities and build a nucleus of them."
Electric cars here?The state's other U.S. senator, Republican Lamar Alexander, also has pushed alternative-energy industries for Tennessee, and has called for turning the Oak Ridge National Laboratories into a major research center for development of new forms of energy.
Besides companies such as Hemlock, Sharp and AGC Flat Glass, which build elements for solar panels and cells, the state should look to other sources of jobs from green-energy initiatives, Alexander said.
Even bigger than Hemlock, he said, would be persuading Franklin-based Nissan North America to build electric cars for the U.S. market at its Smyrna plant.
Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn said during the dedication of the automaker's new Cool Springs headquarters in July that Nissan would begin selling electric cars in the United States as early as 2010.
"I think the biggest impact of green energy in Tennessee will be when Nissan begins making those electric cars here," Alexander said. He also suggested that General Motors could use its Spring Hill plant to build the new Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle that the automaker plans to begin selling next year.
In addition, the state could gain thousands of jobs from the production of biofuels and the hiring of workers to install pollution-control equipment on existing industries and to retrofit homes and businesses with energy-saving materials, he said.
Focus on 'solar America'Hemlock, which is based in Michigan, said on the day of the Clarksville announcement that it also would spend $1 billion to expand its original polysilicon plant there. Hemlock, a subsidiary of Dow Corning, has been in business since 1961.
Stephanie Burns, Dow Corning's chairman and chief executive, said during the Clarksville event that Hemlock has committed to $4.5 billion in new manufacturing investment over the past five years, including the two newest projects.
She said Hemlock intends to help make a "21st-century solar America" the "center of a comprehensive national policy.
This new green-energy push will "help reinvigorate the U.S. economy" and "retrain idle workers" for new careers, she said.
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