TENN STEPS UP AS TEXAS BACKS DOWN ON SUN

Texas solar bill's death could benefit Tennessee
June 2, 2009 (Memphis Business Journal)

"If Texas doesn’t want money to develop solar energy, Tennesee will take it, say some state Democrats.

"Over the weekend, Texas legislators let the clock run out on a bill that would have created a $500 million rebate program to build solar installations in the Lone Star State. On Tennessee’s Capitol Hill Monday, Sen. Jim Kyle [(D-Memphis), who is sponsoring Gov. Phil Bredesen’s energy bill,] was quick to capitalize…"

click to enlarge

"Bredesen has proposed using $600 million in stimulus bill funds to create a Tennessee Solar Institute and West Tennessee Solar Farm that would bring together the resources of the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratories and new companies investing here that will produce solar components, including Wacker Chemie in Bradley County and Hemlock Semiconductor in Clarksville."

click to enlarge

"Those companies were attracted by a package of state incentives and infrastructure-ready industrial megasites…

"Bredesen hopes to position the state as a leader in developing alternative energy sources as part of his legacy as a two-term governor."