By Lena Babaeva Coradini

Fantastic news for Tennessee:  a study noted that Tennessee is one of the top three states in creating clean energy jobs and attracting investment in alternative energy technology.   The study was released in June by The Pew Charitable Trust and noted that from 1998 to 2007, Tennessee’s alternative energy economy generated jobs seven times faster than the economy as a whole.

One company helping Tennessee in achieving this status is Shoals Technologies Group, a private maker of solar components that has relocated its headquarters to Portland, Tennessee earlier this year.  The company, which started as a a maker of HVAC actuators, has experienced almost meteoric rise since its involvement with solar industry as sole supplier of cable assemblies for nation’s thin-film solar module manufacturers. The benefit of Shoals to the state is immense, not only in how favorably this company discusses relocation in Tennessee and working with Tennessee state and local agencies, but also in its growth and job capacity:

Shoals has been growing about 30% per year since 2004. The company brought about 60 jobs to Portland, with approximately 20 in management and 40 in production. He projects that, in three years, Shoals will employ 400 Tennessee workers. (The company also still owns a factory in Muscle Shoals, which employs about 200.) . . .

Shoals Technologies is not only growing its facilities, it's also expanding its offerings by providing integration capabilities to utility-scale solar fields. According to Maros, it's a booming business.

"We work with an integrator to come up with a cost-effective solution, where we will basically daisy-chain [solar] panels together using a variety of methods," he says. "Dean [Solon] has come up with a plug-and-play system to help reduce the cost of integration in both time and material." . . . .

Back in Tennessee, Shoals' investments are helping state officials position the state as a hub for clean energy research, development and production.

This is great news for Tennessee as the state works hard to position itself as a leader in solar energy and other alternative energy, as it pertains to production of energy and creation of technology to capture and use the energy.

Thanks to Bob Boston for suggesting this entry.