Nashville enters into plan to build 100 MW Solar farm

[Finishline42]

Cincinnati has a similar plan in the works. With as much electricity as the Federal govt uses shouldn't this be a way to combat Climate Change? Best part, it saves money long term (utility rate creep) and doesn't require large spending bills getting thru Congress.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s administration has entered a partnership with Nashville Electric Service (NES), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Vanderbilt University to construct 100 MW of utility-scale solar power under the TVA Green Invest program.

Vanderbilt will be a 25 MW co-subscriber to the solar array, thereby reaching their own 100% renewable-energy goal for campus operations. Metro-Nashville will be the first local government to pursue access to Green Invest in TVA territory.

On Metro’s and Vanderbilt’s behalf, TVA will contract with Nashville-based Silicon Ranch Corp. to build a solar array in Tullahoma, Tenn. Silicon Ranch pioneered utility-scale solar power in the Tennessee Valley and is one of the largest independent solar power producers in the U.S. The company was selected through TVA’s 2020 competitive procurement process for construction of up to 200 MW of solar power on the Tullahoma site. There will be no fiscal impact on Metro’s operating budget until the fall of 2023 when construction of the array is expected to be complete.

“Not only will 100 MW of solar power help mitigate a changing climate by affordably and efficiently meeting Metro’s 2025 clean-energy goal, it also puts Tennesseans to work and provides cleaner air during a pandemic characterized by respiratory distress,” says Cooper. “This public-private partnership will serve as a model for NES’s other large customers to replicate. I challenge Nashville’s corporate sector and major institutions to consider TVA Green Invest as a smart way to prepare for what must be a greener future.”

Metro’s 100 MW of solar power will produce the clean-electricity with a 20-year power purchase agreement. By reducing harmful air pollution, Metro’s and Vanderbilt’s combined 125 MW of solar energy will result in $3 to $6.8 million dollars of health benefits across Tennessee. Silicon Ranch Corp. estimates the construction of the array will create 500 jobs.

https://solarindustrymag.com/mayor-cooper-enters-partnership-to-construct-100-mw-of-utility-scale-solar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[msongs]

1. solar on every roof before corporate solar farms. it's our sun, not theirs nt

[Finishline42]

2. While I agree with the sentiment

There is little chance a Green New Deal with a $Trillion dollar price tag gets thru a Mitch led Senate.

What a President Biden could do though is announce a 10 yr plan to do as Nashville did, enter into a Power Purchase Plans (PPA) to provide the Federal Govt 100% of it's electricity needs. All over the country. Those don't require a cash outlay from the govt, just the commitment to buy what is produced.

Then you would see a continuation of the rapid drop in the price for solar. You would also increase the number of people in the business of installing solar. As a result, the cost to install on our roofs will decrease.

Maybe President Biden can get a bill passed that makes a one for one net metering the rule not an option for utility companies.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. I'm doing my part....3500w of panels with battery back-up.

I can't justify based on current utility costs, but I'm doing it because-

(1) I will have power when I lose utility service that happens in the winter up here in ME.
(2) Higher property resale if I ever decide to sell
(3) I want to support the industry to decentralize energy.

It's better for the environment, better for our economic future, better for our national security, and better for me.

[msongs]

4. my CA house has solar and runs free electricity daylight time xcpt for central air which

uses more juice than everything else in the house combined. it's in riverside a very sunny location