Tennessee biorefinery to convert wood to fuel

Tennessee officials say two companies have signed an agreement to develop a biorefinery that will convert 1,000 dry tons of wood product per day to renewable diesel or jet fuel.

Hawaii-based ClearFuels will have the facility at the Hughes Hardwood wood component products manufacturing facility in Collinwood in Wayne County.

Officials said Tuesday in announcing the plan that at least 50 jobs will be created.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for late 2011 with operation beginning some two years later.

The biorefinery will be capable of producing 16 million gallons of diesel and 4 million gallons of the gasoline feedstock naphtha each year.

Gov. Phil Bredesen said the project shows the state’s role in the continued growth of alternative fuels.

Source: WATE

Knoxville developer filling up business park despite poor economy

Since the economy started its downturn more than a year ago, plenty of companies have gone under. But a Knoxville developer who picked a bad time to start building is still coming out on top.

Dennis Fraze imports and sells car parts to manufacturers all over the world.

In 2008, he decided to try a new business venture, developing his own business park. He began construction on The Landing the same year.

Fraze played it safe, only beginning construction on one of the four buildings he planned.

Then the economy tanked. “We went an entire year just about before we had people actually start coming in,” Fraze says.

The businessman knew he had switch gears. “We actually partnered with the people to see what do we need to do to get them in the building.”

Aggressively marketing the development helped get the name out there, but Fraze had to go even further.

He had to make the outside of the building attractive and he says in this buyer’s market, he knew he had to make changes inside, with potential tenants in mind.

“When you go into this building, you’re going to see wood trim. You’re going to see tile floors. You’re going to see, the lighting is going to be very different.”

Joe Usher owns The Payroll Source. He looked at more than 20 properties before moving into The Landing.

Usher says what sold him was Fraze’s willingness to change the layout of the building, help him expand and add upgrades like a conference room to better suit the needs of his business.

That’s something that’s hard to find, Usher adds.

“Unless someone was willing to write a check for millions of dollars, most of the time, most owners are set where they’re at, and they rent the space as is. Or you write a larger check and they’re not willing to actually go very far for you,” Usher explains.

Currently, the first building at The Landing is full and the second is nearly 50 percent leased before construction has even started.

Dennis Fraze also had to change his original vision for his business park. He had planned a mix use space, with retail shops on the bottom floor and office space on the top.

However, he quickly learned the demand for office space was the greatest, so he’s now catering to that type of business.

Fraze expects construction on building two to begin this spring.

Source: WATE

Revitalization effort continues in Downtown North Knoxville

A redevelopment project continues in an area dubbed Knoxville’s “Downtown North.”

The area is between Interstate 275 and Hall of Fame Drive north of Depot Street and south of Woodland Avenue.

Until recently, the area was plagued by numerous eyesores.

“You saw a lot of buildings where people seemed to have lost hope,” says Knoxville Director of Redevelopment Bob Whetsel.

Now fresh paint and new signs are evidence of the major revitalization effort. The city has pumped $2 million worth of federal money into the area.

“The ultimate vision is to have this become economically viable for businesses to operate and to be part of a commercial center to the neighborhoods and the downtown around it,” Whetsel says.

A facade improvement program that also required private dollars was first on the agenda. “The city’s share of this is up to 80 percent of the money so it’s an 80, 20 match,” Whetsel explains.

A-1 Furniture, Super Marios, Lusk Body Co., Carpet Headquarters and Dixie Kitchen Distributors have all partnered with the city.

“Now that we’ve got this visible showroom, we’re picking up some traffic from it,” says David Gryder, vice president of Dixie Kitchen Distributors.

Another part of the project involves improving the sidewalks to make the area more pedestrian friendly.

“We made some changes on Central to convert it to a two-lane road in each direction to try and get some on-street parking and some bike lanes,” Whetsel says.

As city officials tap into local and federal dollars, more enhancements are expected.

City officials behind the revitalization effort have requested $1 million be included in the city’s budget for streetscape improvements. They should hear back April 30.

Source: WATE

Levine Children’s Hospital gets $5.7M for cancer research

Eight philanthropic organizations and families in the Charlotte region have committed $5.7 million to create the Carolinas Kids Cancer Research Coalition.

The coalition will provide funding for the introduction of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials by the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Center at Levine Children’s Hospital. The 12-story, 234-bed facility is on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, the flagship of Carolinas HealthCare System.

Clinical trials will focus on leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain tumors, kidney cancer, and other bone and soft-tissue tumors.

“The expansion of Phase I and Phase II studies will lead to increasing our overall knowledge and enhancing the capability of our physicians and staff to provide new treatment options for our region’s children with cancer,” says Dr. Leonard Feld, Sara H. Bissell & Howard C. Bissell Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and chief medical officer of Levine.

The coalition’s $5.7 million in commitments includes $1 million from the Alex Hemby Foundation and the Hemby family. That gift is being matched by the Leon Levine Foundation.

Founding members also include The Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation, The Baby J Ladley Fund, the Quail Hollow Championship, drumSTRONG, 24 Hours of Booty and Brett’s Ride for Rhabdo. Those nonprofits are dedicated to fund raising, education and awareness related to pediatric cancer.

Levine’s Pediatric Hematology and Ongology Center is one of the children’s hospital’s fastest-growing programs. Along with treating patients for leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, tumors and kidney cancer, it provides neuro-oncology services and blood and marrow transplantation.

Funding will be used to expand the center’s staff, diagnostic and treatment equipment and support services for Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, which are conducted to test the safety, effectiveness and best approaches for using new drugs and other inventions.

The center’s staff includes eight board-certified physicians with in-depth knowledge of the full range of childhood cancers, offering extensive surgical, chemotherapy and radiologic procedures.

“By expanding our clinical research capabilities, we are assuring families throughout this region that they can receive the latest treatments close to home,” says Michael Tarwater, chief executive of Carolinas HealthCare.

Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare is the largest health-care system in the Carolinas and the third-largest public system in the nation. The system owns, leases or manages 32 hospitals. Its flagship hospital is Carolinas Medical Center, an 874-bed hospital in midtown Charlotte.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal

Duke Energy Invests In Storage Project For Renewable Energy

Duke Energy has participated in a $17 million round of venture funding for a four-year-old Massachusetts company that’s developing utility-scale storage systems for renewable energy sources.

General Compression Inc. will use the money to build and install its first full-scale storage unit this year. It anticipates its first commercial installation in 2011.

Large-scale power storage makes intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy more useful to power producers. Power from a windmill producing too much electricity when the wind is high can be stored and then dispatched later when the wind dies down, making wind power a more reliable source for generating electricity.

Long-term storage
General Compression’s goal is to develop compressors for projects that can store energy for eight to 300 hours.
“We believe this technology can have a significant impact on the rapidly growing wind industry,” says Wouter Van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services, which operates more than 630 megawatts of wind projects for Duke’s commercial division. That “will allow Duke Energy and others to develop cost-competitive and low-carbon solutions to meet the power needs of the world’s electric systems.”
The financing round was led by U.S. Renewables Group , an investment firm based in Santa Monica, Calif.

Undergound storage
The General Compression units will use power from renewables to compress air for storage underground. It will use traditional geological storage sites such as salt formations, saline aquifers and depleted natural gas fields. When the power is needed, the units will convert compressed air back into electricity.

The company says its system needs no additional power sources for storage. It uses the power produced by the renewable generator; thus, it has no carbon emissions. It says more than 70% of the electricity its units take from the generator comes back as electricity after the conversion and storage process.

General Compression says its projects can be built near existing wind farms, or other generating sources, to use existing transmission lines.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal

How do I prepare for interview questions that come out of left field?

Q: I know there are job interview questions that are commonly asked (“Where do you see yourself in five years?”, “What’s your greatest weakness?” and so forth). But how do I ready myself for queries that come way out of left field? I want to be able to score with every answer I give.

A: In general, “scoring” during an interview depends on more than simply having an answer ready for every question. Interviewers are interested in your attitude and maturity, your work ethic, your professionalism and how well you communicate. Regardless of the job, they’re also evaluating you as a problem solver, a team player and someone who wants to learn and grow.

When you get an unexpected question, the most important thing to do is take a moment to ponder, “What can I say that is authentic and professional?”

In the end, honesty is best. This might include saying that you don’t have an exact answer or even admitting that it’s a challenging question. What doesn’t work is posturing, sugarcoating or pretending you know something you don’t. Gaining the interviewer’s respect will always be more important than having a “perfect” answer.
In general, “scoring” during an interview depends on more than simply having an answer ready for every question. Interviewers are interested in your attitude and maturity, your work ethic, your professionalism and how well you communicate. Regardless of the job, they’re also evaluating you as a problem solver, a team player and someone who wants to learn and grow.

When you get an unexpected question, the most important thing to do is take a moment to ponder, “What can I say that is authentic and professional?”

In the end, honesty is best. This might include saying that you don’t have an exact answer or even admitting that it’s a challenging question. What doesn’t work is posturing, sugarcoating or pretending you know something you don’t. Gaining the interviewer’s respect will always be more important than having a “perfect” answer.

Source: KIVITV.com

Cover letter tips that could help new grads land a job

This is not going to be a banner year for new grads to be job hunting, so every advantage to stand tall helps.

Career experts and resume writers Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark teach that in the fourth edition of “Cover Letter Magic: Trade Secrets of Professional Resume Writers” ($16.95; JIST Publishing).

Here are their five tips for graduating seniors on how to use their cover letters to show how they meet a company’s hiring criteria. (They also can be applied to experienced job seekers.)

•Highlight “professional” skills developed through professional and nonprofessional experience. If, for example, you have worked on important team projects while at school, communicate that you know how to get results in that kind of environment.

•If technology skills are important in your field, emphasize your skills in this area.

•Mine your academic experiences for evidence of leadership skills. These are important in a work environment and are evidence of your potential.

•Highlight your academic achievements. They indicate your intelligence and competitiveness.

•Relate your skills, experience and interests to the employer’s needs. Show you understand business priorities and are ready to make a contribution. Don’t simply state, “I’ve graduated. Now I need a job.”

Source: The Baltimore Sun

Duke Energy-funded group aids Bosch expansion

An economic-development operation funded by Duke Energy Corp. has provided a $50,000 grant to help Bosch Rexroth Corp. expand its hydraulics operation in Greenville County, S.C. (DUK)

Source: Charlotte Business News – Local Charlotte News | Charlotte Business Journal

Solar Manufacturing Plant to Create 250 Jobs in Clinton

Confluence Solar Inc. plans to build a $200 million solar manufacturing plant in Clinton, 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.

He also cited the polysilicon plants being built in Tennessee by Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. and Wacker Chemie AG. Both plants will produce the material used by Confluence Solar to make premium quality silicon ingots for solar cells.

DeLuca said 17 other Tennessee communities competed for the plant.

The governor noted that the announcement comes on the heels of another Clinton company, SL America Corp., winning a major contract to make automatic shifter assemblies for the new Volkswagen plant being built in Chattanooga.

“No matter what the weather is around the state, I think the sun is shining in Anderson County right now,” he said.

Bredesen said Thursday’s announcement was evidence that Tennessee’s emphasis on green energy investment is paying off.

“I’m becoming convinced that it’s increasingly difficult for companies in the clean energy sector to ignore the momentum that we’re building in Tennessee,” he said.

Bredesen said Thursday’s announcement was distinct from efforts to attract what he has called a “major” commercial investment related to Tennessee’s biofuels program.

Bredesen in November revealed the potential investment when he argued a legislative panel’s concerns about Tennessee’s involvement in the state’s biofuel initiative could scare off the company. The panel later relented and approved funding for a pilot biofuel plant in Vonore, and the governor said he hoped to announce the commercial investment by the end of the year.

“This is not it,” Bredesen told reporters after the Confluence Solar announcement. “It hasn’t gone away, we’re still working on it.”

“We’re appreciative to Confluence Solar for this investment in Anderson County,” said County Mayor Rex Lynch on Thursday. “We’re committed to doing our best to provide this cutting edge company with a world class workforce.”

“Confluence Solar could not have chosen a better community in which to locate,” said Clinton Mayor Scott Burton. “Confluence Solar will make Clinton, Tenn., an important center for new solar technologies and will provide good paying jobs in the process.”

Robin Smith, a Republican seeking election to U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp’s Third District congressional seat, said in a statement Thursday morning that she is pleased with the news.

“This is welcome news for our area,” Smith said. “I am pleased to see the valuable resource Tennessee has in Anderson County paying off for our citizens.

“Confluence Solar will join the other companies and research facilities that have propelled Anderson County to the forefront of transforming the ways we generate energy,” Smith said.

Source: The Oak Ridger Business RSS

Potential DOE, USEC pact could save jobs

A possible new agreement between the federal government and a company with operations in Oak Ridge could save roughly 100 Tennessee jobs, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp announced today.

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to provide $45 million for demonstration and testing activities on USEC Inc.’s American Centrifuge Project, Wamp, a Chattanooga Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, stated in a news release.

Last summer, DOE initially denied a $2 billion loan guarantee for the project, but then federal officials said they would delay a final decision for six months.

A Maryland-based uranium enrichment company, USEC has applied for the loan guarantee for work on the American Centrifuge Plant, based in Piketon, Ohio. Some work on that project occurs in Oak Ridge — where USEC has taken over the former Boeing building — and also in more than two dozen states.

USEC executives have said they would have to “demobilize” the project and lay off workers if the company fails to get the DOE loan guarantee, and some layoffs have already been announced.

Source: The Oak Ridger Business RSS