A 1,600-acre farm in Logan County has been leased out to Nashville-based solar power producer Silicon Ranch who will construct a solar farm to provide electricity for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Invest program. The property along Watermelon and Montgomery roads, to the southwest of Russellville, should begin producing power in 2023 for two specific TVA customers: Facebook’s data center in Gallatin, Tenn., and the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green. Construction is expected to add 450 new jobs. Matt Beasley, chief commercial officer for Silicon Ranch, said in an email that the majority of the construction workers will be recruited from the region and the military veteran community.
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When operational, the solar farm will provide Facebook’s data center with 145 megawatts of solar power and the Corvette plant with 28 megawatts. TVA and Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. are partnering with Silicon Ranch to develop the project. Since 2008, TVA’s Green Invest program has attracted nearly US$2.7 billion in solar investment and procured more than 2,100 megawatts of solar on behalf of customers committed to converting to renewable energy. The Logan County solar farm will also feature Silicon Ranch’s Regenerative Energy approach to solar development.
“It’s going to look different,” said Tom Harned, executive director of the Logan County Economic Development Organization. “The whole idea of farming is to generate revenue. They won’t be doing it by growing corn or soybeans, but it’s still a productive use of the land.” Construction is expected to begin in 2022 and to be completed in the fall of 2023. “This announcement is the result of Facebook’s, General Motors’ and Warren RECC’s leadership and our joint, long-term commitment to renewable energy across the region,” Chris Hansen, TVA vice president for origination and renewables, said in a news release.
