BusinessTN

If there is one company in Tennessee that has figured out how to make money out of thin air, it's EMJ Corp. Already the largest contractor in Tennessee (and 59th largest in terms of annual revenue in the country, according to Engineering News Record magazine's ranking this year), the 39-year-old construction firm that for decades has built shopping malls, entertainment and distribution buildings, three years ago went into the unlikely business of wind farm construction.

Less popular in the United States, the wind farm industry has been a staple in Europe, where countries like Denmark and Germany generate 20% of their electricity from wind. "And their wind speeds are much less than we have here in the U.S.," says Ben Fischer, president of Chattanooga-based Signal Wind Energy, the subsidiary started by EMJ to focus on wind farm construction. While wind power use in the States is significantly below 1%, it has been on the rise after skyrocketing fossil fuel costs sparked renewed interest in renewable energy. Suddenly, financing and energy giants such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and BP are getting into the wind business. Naturally, investors willing to spend up to $400 million on a single wind farm project demand depth of experience and financial stability from the contractor, which is why Signal Wind is in demand, says Fischer, who previously worked at Siemens and power plant builder SCS Energy. Usually netting 20%-30% of the total project cost, Signal Wind is responsible for everything but supplying the wind turbines. It handles road construction and foundation work, installs electrical systems and the turbines, and then connects it all to the grid.

In mid-June, having just returned from the dedication ceremony of the Forest Creek Wind Project in Texas, Fischer and his staff of 30 were busy with six ongoing wind farm projects — and seven more in the pre-construction phase — with locations ranging from Northeast Texas to Vermont and from Minnesota to Canada. Signal Wind is currently building the country's largest wind farm near Snyder, Texas, which features 21 three-megawatt turbines atop 150-meter towers. Always trying to improve efficiency, Signal Wind relies heavily on EMJ staff and subcontractors. A typical project, which can take between three months to a year to complete, requires 80 to 100 people at the construction site. Sort of like a shopping mall job, but with better margins and a hip, renewable-energy pizzazz.

Even though the hills and hollows of Tennessee are far from ideal sites for wind farm construction, the state is home to several important industry players. Thomas & Betts of Memphis supplies components to wind farms, while Knoxville's Enernex does electrical utility studies. Wind tower builder Aerisyn opened a large production facility in Chattanooga in 2005. In the meantime, Signal Wind and EMJ are happy in Chattanooga, where they have a seemingly infinite supply of qualified workforce, steeped in experience at TVA and other energy-related ventures. Expecting combined revenues of nearly $1 billion this year, EMJ hired another shopping mall builder, CBL, to construct its new headquarters downtown at Hamilton Place — probably because they were too busy building wind farms.