By Lena Babaeva Coradini

Fantastic headline: Green jobs take root in Tennessee as two major solar companies coming to Tennessee spurs some clean-energy jobs in the state.

The Hemlock, Mich.-based manufacturer is creating 500 jobs at its facility there — where it will produce polysilicon used to make solar cells that will go into solar panels to produce clean electrical power.

Green jobs have been hyped as part of the solution to unemployment rates that still remain uncomfortably high, with Tennessee's at 9.5 percent for January. The state has hemorrhaged tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in recent years, including in an auto industry that has slumped the past two years.

Now, the promise of a "green jobs" wave seems to be coming to fruition at big projects such as Hemlock or smaller ones such as government-funded weatherization programs. Training programs have sprung up to prepare Tennessee's workers for all the new tasks that hold hope of delivering steady wages.

All of Hemlock's workers, from chemical engineers to skilled tradesmen such as pipefitters and electricians, are considered part of the burgeoning green economy, said Brian Amick, Hemlock's training manager.

"There is certainly more movement toward a green economy in the state with plants that have located here," said economist David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University.

The extent to which green jobs can help restructure the state's economy will be addressed in a state report being released in two months that will identify the number of green jobs that already have been created and how many will be created in the next year.

Some 6,000 employers, including government and private companies, will be surveyed in the study by the state Labor and Workforce Development Department and Penn's office.

At the same time, environmental groups are pushing a green jobs bill at the state General Assembly this year that, among other things, proposes eliminating the sales tax on solar system purchases.

Reps. Mike Stewart and Brenda Gilmore, both Democrats from Nashville, are sponsoring the bill.

"We feel green jobs is a fast-growing sector," said Dan Joranko, project director for green jobs at the Tennessee Alliance for Progress, one of the environmental groups supporting the bill.

"We think those jobs are starting to be realized," he said.

A state report last year said at least 6,000 direct jobs would be created by a handful of major clean-energy investments. They include Hemlock and another polysilicon manufacturer, Wacker Chemie AG; Volkswagen's billion-dollar facility to build cars with high fuel efficiency; Nissan's lithium-ion battery and Leaf electric car production; a $200 million electric car charging station network; and various solar generation and research initiatives.

Two years ago, another state report forecast that 40,000 jobs could be created from $1.9 billion being invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Those funds included federal stimulus money for such things as weatherizing homes and making public housing more energy efficient.

The HVAC program at the Tennessee Technology Center in Nashville now includes instruction on geothermal systems, wind-power generation and weatherization. And automotive technician programs incorporate instruction on energy-efficient vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars.

"We've made sustainability a big portion of our current programs," said Chelle Travis, assistant vice chancellor for instruction at the Tennessee Board of Regents. The board oversees the state's technology centers, which offer technical and vocational certification in a variety of fields.

 The technology center in McKenzie, Tenn., is launching a green electronics program to cover basic electronics, along with installation of solar, wind generator and geothermal systems.

State schools also are partnering with other clean-energy companies to provide the types of specific training they'll need future employees to master, Travis said.

Austin Peay State University, in association with Hemlock, has launched a two-year associate's degree in chemical engineering technology. About 175 students were enrolled in the program, and the first class of 60 is expected to graduate in May.

Great news for Tennessee!