TVA unveils solar facility partnership with Facebook, RWE Renewables

The Tennessee Valley Authority recently announced a Green Invest partnership with Facebook and RWE Renewables that will result in the construction of a 150-megawatt (MW) solar facility. Facebook will use 110-MW of the solar energy to support their data center operations in Gallatin, Tenn., and the broader Tennessee Valley.  

Through its Green Invest program, TVA matches demand for green power from large business and industrial customers with renewable projects that TVA puts together with its development partners. The utility says the program confers to commercial customers the benefits of TVA’s scale and negotiating expertise in building power projects.  Since 2018, TVA’s Green Invest program has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured over 2,100 megawatts of solar on behalf of its customers.

TVA is partnering with RWE to develop the $140 million solar farm. RWE, through a long-term power purchase agreement with TVA, will own and operate the plant, which will be located near Millington, Tenn.

In April, Facebook announced that its operations are now supported by 100% renewable energy. To support that goal, in the last year, Facebook has signed Green Invest agreements for 475 MW of new solar to be built in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

Since 2018, Facebook has agreed to purchase a total of 852 megawatts of power generated by multiple solar farms linked into the TVA electric grid.  

Since October, TVA has increased its contracted solar capacity by 60%.   

Jeff Lyash, President and CEO of TVA, discussed the Green Invest program in a recent episode of the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Now podcast.