Riding the wave of steady growth in the solar industry sector, Hemlock Semiconductor is expanding its Mid Michigan operations into Tennessee.
Hemlock Semiconductor selected Clarksville, Tennessee, as the site for a $1.2 billion manufacturing plant, which is scheduled to begin production in about two years.
In the meantime, the new plant will mean work for thousands of area residents who will assist in the construction of the new facility. Local officials are hoping that the new plant also will help create spinoff jobs and establish the state as a leader in the U.S. solar energy market -- much like Hemlock Semiconductor has done for Mid Michigan.
Excerpt:
Terry Strange, site manager for Hemlock Semiconductor LLC, is overseeing the plant's construction and will be on site when it produces polysilicon -- a primary building block for the solar energy industry.
Hemlock chose the Clarksville location over 60 other sites, including a strong contender in Canada. The company is scheduled to start production by October 2012, and some 3,000 workers are expected to have a hand in the construction and related preparations.
Last year, Strange moved to Clarksville from China, where he directed a similar project for Hemlock's parent company, Dow Corning. He talked with Tennessean reporter Bonna Johnson about the potential of the solar supply chain and Hemlock's part in it.
Read the entire story
here.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.