Department of
Economic & Community Development
Bill Hagerty, Commissioner

Governor Haslam's Jobs4TN plan identifies six key clusters of business and industry where the state has a clear competitive advantage - including Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Technologies. The Jobs4TN plan clearly includes solar, wind, biofuels and electric vehicles as a focus for Tennesse's economic development success.

Electric Vehicles

• Nissan North America is investing $1.4 billion in retooling their Smyrna manufacturing plant to produce zero-emissions vehicles and state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs to power them.
• Tennessee is an original pilot market for The EV Project, the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Tennessee is participating in a large-scale installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the deployment of up to 5,000 Nissan battery electric vehicles. Read more here.

Biofuel Technology

• Tennessee is home to one of the nation's first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plants, and the only one dedicated to converting both agricultural residue and bioenergy crops to fuel ethanol.
• The 74,000-square-foot facility in Vonore has the capacity to produce 250,000 gallons of ethanol from corncobs and switchgrass annually and is a joint partnership of DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol and the University of Tennessee/Genera Energy.

Solar Power

• Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. and Wacker Chemie, the world's leading producers of polycrystalline silicon, have invested a combined $2.2 billion in Tennessee. They join other solar-related companies in the state including Sharp Manufacturing, AGC Flat Glass, and Shoals Technologies.
• Tennessee has established the Volunteer State Solar Initiative with $62 million in federal funds to support job creation and advance education, research and renewable power production. The initiative consists of two projects:

For more information about the Tennessee Office of Energy Policy, call (615) 741-2994.