
This year the Mississippi Legislature approved loans for three green energy manufacturing companies recruited to the state by Gov. Haley Barbour. In January the state Legislature approved a $75 million loan for Stion, a startup manufacturing company that will make thin-film solar panels in Hattiesburg. The company promises to investment $500 million and bring 1,000 [...] [...]
by Ross Reily Published: September 13,2011
Tags: agriculture, banking and finance, Baxter Laboratories, Bolivar County, Calisolar, CLEVELAND, Coahoma County, construction, Delta Revitalization Task Force, DeSoto County, education, employment, environment, federal government, Greenville, Greenville Bridge, HCL Cleantech, healthcare, higher education, House Bill 1034, Issaquena County, jobs, KIOR, Leflore County, manufacturing, Memphis, Mississippi, Mississippi Business Journal, Mississippi Delta, municipal government, oil spill, publicly traded company, real estate, retail, Riverbend Crossing, Sharkey County, Soladigm, state agency, Stion, Sunflower County, Tallahatchie County, tourism, Twin Creeks, unemployment, utilities, VICKSBURG, Washington County, Weather
The Mississippi Delta continues to flounder as unemployment figures average around 18 percent for the 12 counties between Vicksburg and Memphis. Yet, there have been many jobs announcements in the years of the Barbour administration, but very few have had anything to do with the Mississippi Delta. In this latest barrage of economic development announcements, [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: September 6,2011
Tags: agriculture, banking and finance, Calisolar, casinos, Columbus, construction, Crosslink Capital, disaster, disaster recovery, economic development, economy, education, elections, employment, energy, environment, Evergreen Solar, federal agency, federal government, gaming, Gov. Haley Barbour, HATTIESBURG, healthcare, higher education, investing, jobs, manufacturing, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Mississippi Business Journal, offshore drilling, oil and gas, oil spill, real estate, recession, San Francisco Business Times, Solyndra, state government, Stion, Sunnyvale California, tourism, transportation, Twin Creeks, Weather
Solar energy may be the wave of the future, but Mississippi should be careful where it comes to being an investor in new companies promising the moon — er, sun. Evergreen Solar in Massachusetts went bankrupt last month, leaving that state hanging after an investment of more than $40 million of taxpayer dollars in the [...] [...]
As the photovoltaics industry took a hit with the bankruptcy of Evergreen Solar, Stion announced a Sept. 16 ribbon cutting for its Hattiesburg plant. While some industry experts speculate more solar companies may also fail or move production to China, Stion and other manufacturers feel secure with thin-film technology. Evergreen used solar wafer technology, which [...] [...]

Although Mississippians will be manufacturing solar panels at Stion in Hattiesburg, they will find it difficult to use the company’s products at home unless the state Public Service Commission adopts a uniform net-metering policy. Stion touts its residential products on its website: “Stion’s panels can help you save money on your electricity bill, gain energy [...] [...]
Solar panel manufacturers Twin Creeks Technologies and Stion were recruited to the state by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), and the projects received loans of $50 million and $75 million, respectively. >>See complete story [...]

by Amy McCullough Published: January 23,2011
Tags: beef plant, clawbacks, Edward L. Glaeser, Gov. Haley Barbour, GREEN ENERGY, Kathy Gelston, Khosla Ventures, KIOR, Marianne Hill, Mississippi Development Authority, Soladigm, solar, Stion, Tate Reeves
See related Feb. 4 Business Blog post, ‘Haley Barbour and Khosla Ventures’ and Feb. 11 post, ‘WSJ: Learned from Khosla-backed energy startups that tanked.’ State leaders agree that affordable and reliable energy is essential for Mississippi’s future economic growth. Gov. Haley Barbour has said his energy policy is “more of it” and has aggressively promoted [...] [...]

Gov. Haley Barbour stuck another advanced-manufacturing feather in his job-creation cap last week when a California-based company announced it intends to produce solar panels in Hattiesburg. Stion Corp. said it would operate out of the old Sunbeam building, invest $500 million into the venture and create 1,000 jobs in the Pine Belt region the next [...] [...]