In a one-day special session Friday, the Mississippi Legislature approved the issuance of $175 million of general obligation bonds as incentives for two major development projects.
Of the bond proceeds, $100 million will go to HCL CleanTech, which converts biomass to sugars that can be used as industrial bio-products. The company says it will create 800 jobs with an average salary of $67,000 plus benefits.
HCL plans to invest $1 billion to build headquarters in Olive Branch, build a small-scale commercial facility and R&D center in Grenada, and build three large-scale commercial plants in the Boone-ville, Hattiesburg and Natchez areas.
Calisolar will receive $75 million of bond proceeds to develop a facility in Columbus to develop silicon used in vehicles, solar panels, electronics and consumer products. Calisolar says it will create 951 full-time jobs with an average annual salary of $45,000 plus benefits.
