Ten Superior Site Certification Programs

A certified industrial site is considered one that has been thoroughly analyzed and documented by a third party engineering firm to determine acreage, archaeological, availability, boundary, cultural, endangered species, environmental, geotechnical, land use, ownership, topography, transportation, utility and wetland issues. A certified site is also considered to be "shovel ready" for acquisition and development. Southern Business & Development has done its own research to determine what we believe are some of the South's best site certification programs.

TVA's Megasite Program

In 2004, the Tennessee Valley Authority established one of the first, if not the first, noteworthy site certification program with its Megasite initiative. Originally launched to certify sites for automotive assembly plants, TVA's Megasite program has been incredibly successful, with five of the eight certified sites sold to major corporations. To date, Dow Corning/Hemlock Semiconductor, VW, Paccar, Toyota and Severstal are or have built massive facilities on sites in Clarksville, Tenn., Chattanooga, Tenn., Columbus, Miss. and Tupelo, Miss. Together, those projects represent capital investments that total more than $5 billion with 5,500 or more direct jobs created. Three sites remain in TVA's Megasite inventory; the 2,100-acre I-24 Megasite in Hopkinsville, Ky., the 1,720-acre (plus 3,000 acres under option) Memphis-Jackson I-40 Advantage Megasite in Haywood, Tenn. and the 2,010-acre I-65 Megasite in Athens, Ala. All of TVA's sites feature a minimum of 1,000 acres, complete environmental and geotechnical testing, proximity to Interstate highways, railways and suppliers and a plentiful labor shed.

South Carolina Power Team and Santee Cooper's Certified Sites Program

The South Carolina Power Team and Santee Cooper's program has certified 39 sites in South Carolina, all ranging from about 50 to 1,500 acres. The two power companies have spent well over $1 million certifying sites in the Palmetto State. There are three large certified sites in and around Sumter and Florence, S.C. that are all 1,200-acres plus, including the Black River Airport Industrial Park (1,300 acres), the I-95 Mega Site (1,441 acres) and the Young Lands Industrial Site (1,445 acres). All three are located on or just a few miles away from Interstate 95. The South Carolina Power Team is the economic development alliance of the state-owned electric utility Santee Cooper and the state's 20 electric cooperatives. 

Duke Energy's Site Readiness Program

For five years Duke Energy has sponsored a program to evaluate and improve industrial sites in the counties the utility serves in North Carolina and South Carolina. The program is intended to identify, assess, improve and increase awareness of industrial sites in the Duke Energy region. Duke is also using McCallum Sweeney Consulting as well as In-Site Consulting in its Site Readiness Program. Since its inception in 2005, Duke Energy has identified and performed assessments on approximately 75 industrial sites and eight potential megasites across the Carolinas.

Mississippi Power's Project Ready Program

Like TVA's Megasite Program, Mississippi Power has partnered with South Carolina-based McCallum Sweeney Consulting to design and implement a customized site certification program for southeast Mississippi. Mississippi Power's Project Ready site certification initiative has an aviation and aerospace flavor to it, as several of the sites are located near the John C. Stennis Space Center. There are currently five sites in the Project Ready inventory, including Howard Technology Park, Key Brothers Aviation Site, George County Industrial Park Phase II, Jackson County Aviation Technology Park and John C. Stennis Space Center. All of Project Ready's sites have undergone a rigorous screening and are available, fully-served, and developable.

Entergy Arkansas' Select Site Program

This certified site program has a nice mix of 16 certified sites in Arkansas. Entergy Arkansas used Deloitte Consulting to certify sites for its Select Site program. Deloitte implemented 50-point criteria for certification and the sites range in size from 40 acres to more than 2,000 acres. Three of the sites certified by Entergy Arkansas can accommodate just about any large project. The Saline County I-530 site encompasses 2,045 acres and the Carlisle, Ark. I-40 site totals 1,925 acres. Also in Entergy's inventory is the M-1 site in Marion, Ark. that Toyota considered twice in the last decade for automotive assembly plants that went to San Antonio and Tupelo, Miss. Since 2005, Select Site has created 2,091 jobs with $335 million in capital investment.

Alabama's AdvantageSite

The AdvantageSite program is an Economic Development Partnership of Alabama initiative that is sponsored jointly by EDPA, Alabama Development Office, Alabama Gas, Alabama Power, North Alabama Industrial Development Association and PowerSouth Energy. The program requires that community economic development organizations provide documentation specific to the proposed industrial site, including a set of standard data related to ownership and control of the site, environmental and geotechnical conditions and infrastructure status. To date, 16 sites in Alabama have earned the AdvantageSite designation, including rural and metro sites of all sizes. 

Oklahoma's Site Ready Program

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce, in partnership with PSO and OG&E, has implemented one of the most thorough site certification programs that exist today. Called Site Ready, the program separates each certified site (there are over 30 already designated) into several categories, including Aerospace, Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial, Business Services/Call Center, R&D and Rural Business and Commerce. These varied sites are available for sale or lease immediately; ready to build on with all utilities in place or pre-permitted and planned; and clear of regulatory landmines. 

North Carolina's CS

The North Carolina Department of Commerce has certified dozens of sites in the Tar Heel State. All sites have undergone a rigorous test to ensure that the property is ready for development including Phase I environmental audit, geotechnical studies, availability of public utilities, engineered site development plans and a detailed analysis of development costs.

 Georgia's GRAD Sites Program

Preparing industrial sites for development with advance due diligence is the work behind the Guaranteed Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) sites program in Georgia. The program was established by Georgia Allies, a consortium of public and private entities including AT&T, Delta Air Lines, Georgia Power, EGS, GEMC and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. To qualify for GRAD status, sites have been submitted by a local community of economic development applicant and selected by the Allies for review and their applications have been reviewed by a third party. GRAD sites can be accessed by visiting the site databases of Georgia EMC, Georgia Power and EGS.

Missouri's Certified Sites Program

The program is brand new and only one site has been certified by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, however, a spokesperson there said that they are about to complete certification on another site and expect two or three more to be completed this year. The Missouri program, which is designed to provide consistent standards regarding the availability and development potential of commercial and industrial sites, is being done in partnership with the Missouri Economic Development Council, Ameren UE, Empire Electric, KCP&L, Missouri Electric Cooperatives and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.