ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE – Confluence Solar Inc. plans to build a $200 million solar manufacturing plant in East Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen and company officials announced Thursday.
John DeLuca, a co-founder of the Hazelwood, Mo.-based company, said the 200,000-square-foot facility in Clinton is projected to create 250 jobs once it reaches full capacity. Depending on demand, that could be as soon as within 18 months, but the company said as few as 50 and 75 people will be enough to get operations started.
DeLuca, who once worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said the choice of the site off Interstate 75 in Anderson County was strengthened by the proximity to the lab and to the new stimulus-funded Solar Institute at the University of Tennessee.
“For a small startup company like ours, it is hard to overstate the importance of being close to … the people and the analytical resources available there,” he said.