Gov. Bredesen is scheduled to join officials of Hemlock Semiconductor at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville this afternoon for a major announcement:

The Hemlock Semiconductor group, which includes two Dow Corning Corporation joint ventures, Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor LLC, will invest up to $3.0 billion to expand polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) production, a key raw material used to manufacture solar cells and semiconductor devices.

This expansion includes an initial investment of $1.2 billion to build a new site in Clarksville, Tennessee, and up to $1 billion to expand current operations in Hemlock, Mich. Combined, the new Clarksville facility and the expanded Hemlock operations may add up to 34,000 metric tons of polysilicon capacity and ultimately as much as $3.0 billion in investments to support the fast-growing solar industry. Construction of both the Michigan expansion and the new Tennessee site will begin immediately.

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Hemlock Semiconductor LLC’s new production facility will be constructed at the Commerce Park site in Clarksville, Tennessee. Initially, this site will have the capacity to manufacture approximately 10,000 metric tons of polysilicon, with the ability to expand production up to 21,000 metric tons. Upon completion of the initial investment, the Clarksville site is expected to employ more than 500 people, and will employ up to 800 when expanded. Construction of the site will employ 1,000 construction workers during the next five to seven years.

According to Hemlock CEO Rick Doornbos, "This announcement offers solar industry leaders confidence that polysilicon supply will be available as the solar and electronics industries continue to grow and innovate."

Increasing demand for solar panels over the past two or three years has caused a shortage of polysilicon materials.