Company Overview

 The Solar Center building at Hemlock Semiconductor Group’s Clarksville, Tennessee site has earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized building certification program to recognize exemplary green building design. LEED-certified buildings integrate environmental sustainability into a building’s overall design, construction, operation and maintenance.

The Solar Center serves as an administration building for the Clarksville site and houses office space, a locker facility, fitness area and dining room.

From inception, the building team was committed to an energy efficient design. Led by Kevin Lamb, lighting specifications, heating and cooling systems, water fixtures and landscaping features focused squarely on reducing the building’s overall energy footprint and creating a healthful environment for employees.

“Achieving LEED Gold certification is an amazing and coveted accomplishment that speaks to Hemlock Semiconductor’s commitment to sustainability and employee well-being,” said Kevin Lamb, Solar Center Project Manager. “Many items that helped qualify the building for Gold certification are healthful, green features that support both the employee and environment simultaneously. For example, bringing abundant natural light into the building not only reduces energy usage but also is shown to improve productivity.”

The environmental highlights of the new facility include:

• A more than 30 percent reduction in indoor water use due to the installation of high efficiency faucets and low-flow plumbing fixtures
• A nearly 30 percent reduction in energy use compared to typical buildings of similar function
• Enhanced storm water management – both quality and quantity – through the use of bio-swales to capture and treat runoff water
• Reduced electrical usage by supplementing with on-site, renewable solar energy via photovoltaic solar panels for building power and perimeter roadway lighting

Also contributing to the LEED Gold Certification:

• Indoor Environmental Quality. By using sky lights, glass exterior curtain walls and glass paneled offices and doors, the building is equipped with outdoor views for more than 90 percent of the spaces. Through the use of an under floor HVAC distribution system, the building provides individual comfort controls to more than 90 percent of the workspaces.
• Energy and Atmosphere. Reduced energy consumption for the building HVAC system was achieved by using heat recovery pipes in the air handling units, economizers to utilize outside air for cooling and a programmable Building Automation System for nighttime that is set back during unoccupied times. Hemlock Semiconductor also employed the use of daylight harvesting, occupancy sensors, dual-level lighting in conference rooms, task lighting and timer switches to reduce overall lighting costs.

“The certification is a feather in our cap, but the real benefit is to employees who can enjoy a pleasant work environment,” Lamb concludes.

About Hemlock Semiconductor Group
Hemlock Semiconductor Group (hscpoly.com) consists of several joint venture companies owned by Dow Corning Corporation, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Hemlock Semiconductor is a leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and other silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices and solar cells and modules. Hemlock Semiconductor began its operations in 1961.

Follow Hemlock Semiconductor Group on Twitter: twitter.com/hscpoly

About Dow Corning
Dow Corning (dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company’s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States. Dow Corning’s global operations adhere to the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care® initiative, a stringent set of standards designed to advance the safe and secure management of chemical products and processes.

Follow Dow Corning on Twitter: twitter.com/dowcorning
Visit Dow Corning’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/dowcorningcorp