Create Energy Expands Manufacturing in Tennessee with $78M Investment and Promising 1,000 New Jobs
Renewables infrastructure equipment firm Create Energy has acquired a 338,000-square-foot site to move its primary manufacturing hub to Orlina, Tennessee.
Tennessee-based Create Energy plans to invest more than $78 million and add 1,000 new jobs in the region around its planned Robertson County facility. The company will shift its current Portland facility in Sumner County into a welcome center, research and development hub and production site.
Create Energy makes transformers, switchgear, solar photovoltaic modules, battery energy storage systems, EV technology solutions and offers engineering, procurement and construction contracting services.
“I’ve been in Tennessee for over 30 years, and this place isn’t just where I work and build businesses, it’s home. I’m proud of what we’re cranking out here at Create Energy: real growth, real jobs and the newest, coolest energy products the world wants,” Create Energy founder and CEO Dean Solon said in a statement. “We have a wave of major initiatives underway, and with our active presence in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, there’s much more on the horizon. We’re moving fast, and we’re here to shake things up with solutions that are truly best in class. Come check out the new facility, it’s pretty darn awesome.”
Solon founded Create Energy three years ago in Portland, Tennessee. He previously had created solar and battery systems solution firm Shoals in the 1990s, then exited his stake in that company earlier this decade, claiming a fortune of around $2 billion, according to reports.
This week’s announcement attracted some of the state’s biggest political and energy leaders to welcome Create Energy’s investment.
“Today’s announcement underscores what world-class companies like Create Energy already know – Tennessee is the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said. “I’m grateful for Create Energy’s investment in our highly skilled workforce and proud to announce their expansion that will create greater opportunity for more than 1,000 Tennessee families.”
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About the Author
EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is head of content for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
He can be reached at [email protected].
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.