Black tours Sumner solar parts plant
U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R- Gallatin, toured solar parts company Shoals Technologies Group in Portland on Monday morning as part of a weeklong trip in her district.
Dean Solon, president and CEO, led Black on a tour of the 100,000-square-foot main facility, from where solar energy products using patent-pending, in-house designs are constructed and shipped. Black said she tours businesses in her district to have a better understanding of their needs, which will aid her decision-making in Washington.
Shoals employs 350-400 people and is one of the county's largest employers. A second facility the company opened in Portland in February is expected to bring another 200-400 jobs to the area. Solon originally said he expected the new building to take two years to fill. However, he now expects it to be full within months and is already searching for a third site in the Middle Tennessee area.While the company has done business in several countries, Solon said he has so far kept all of the company's solar jobs in the United States despite increasing pressure to relocate.China is a looming power in the solar energy market, and Solon says he expects Chinese companies to dominate the field within the next three years and become one of his best customers in the process.
"They want us to stop building here and set up over there," Solon said.For now, Solon said he has worked hard to keep all of his company's solar jobs in the United States, but he expressed to Black during the tour that it is difficult to compete with a country that offers incentives such as free land and buildings for businesses willing to relocate."You can't compete worldwide when you have that kind of pressure on you," Black said.Black said the best way to help local companies is to avoid hampering growth with regulation.Also, as nuclear energy is scrutinized in the wake of the ongoing crisis in Japan, Black said she supports every form of energy the United States can utilize."There is no one form of energy that is going to make us energy-independent," Black said.Black's tour of her district was to conclude Tuesday with a tour of the Nissan plant in Smyrna and a town hall meeting in Bedford County.
