2 Cleantech Ventures, a Billion $ Each
An Interesting Post by a Northerner, surprised that the South is stilll not living in 1865; CTE Editor The region's big cleantech deals include billion-dollar polysilicon plants and stealthy new university spinouts, says Shawn Lesser of Sustainable World Capital. When people usually think about the U.S. South, images of NASCAR are more likely to come to mind than successful cleantech startups. But the fact that the South has become an economic powerhouse is not new, certainly not when one considers the success stories of local companies such as the Home Depot and The Coca Cola Co. The South also is branching out and developing a vibrant cleantech industry. As evidence, one need simply to recognize that the largest cleantech deals in the world have recently taken place in the South. In the past six months, Hemlock Semiconductor announced plans for a $1.2 billion polysilicon plant in Clarksville, Tenn., and German chemical firm Wacker Chemie announced plans for a $1 billion polysil...