A 35-MW (AC) Vanderbilt I Solar Farm recently broke ground in Bedford County, Tennessee and construction has already commenced on this solar project, which is being developed through a partnership between the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Nashville Electric Service (NES), Vanderbilt University, Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC), and Silicon Ranch Corporation. The partnership was announced last January and became the first of its kind to be placed under the Green Invest Program; a nationally-recognized TVA program that deals with matching utility-scale solar projects, located within Tennessee Valley with diverse business, industrial and organizational customers based on their demand for green power.
The Vanderbilt I Solar Farm is expected to become fully operational by the year’s end to enable electricity generation and the production of new renewable energy for Tennessee Valley. This solar project began in 2019, when Vanderbilt University declared its goals of using only renewable energy to power its campus and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The renewable energy produced by this solar farm is intended to cancel out approximately 70% of the university’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is approximately the same amount of power needed to serve upto 6000 homes in a year.
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Vanderbilt I Solar Farm project to be financed, owned, operated and managed by Nashville-based Silicon Ranch
The Vanderbilt I Solar Farm project is being financed by Nashville-based Silicon Ranch and the company intends to hire over 250 craft workers for the installation of the facility, with majority of the recruitments from the Bedford County area and the military veteran community. This solar project will be owned, operated and managed by Silicon Ranch; and according to the company this is a disciplined approach it follows with every project it develops. The Co-Founder and Chairman of Silicon Ranch, Matt Kisber, mentioned that he and several of his colleagues at Silicon Ranch were proud alumni, and everyone at that company commends this world-class university for its bold and well thought out leadership initiative.
Kisber also said the Vanderbilt I Solar Farm project was coming together quite well as a result of Vanderbilt’s commitment and the vision of their partners at TVA, NES, and DREMC. He said Silicon Ranch is on course with its plan to invest over $1billion in renewable energy projects spanning across Tennessee Valley and the company is pleased to include Bedford county in this legacy.
