RWE, Facebook & TVA Partner on Solar Project in US
RWE Renewables has partnered with Facebook and the Tennessee Valley Authority to realize a 150-megawatt solar facility in Shelby County, Tennessee, in the US. Facebook will use 110 MW of the solar energy to support their data center operations in Gallatin, Tennessee, and the broader Tennessee Valley. The plant is expected to start operations in late 2023 with start of construction in mid-2022. Through a long-term power purchase agreement with TVA, RWE will own and operate the plant. The financial investment decision for this plant is expected to be made once the permitting approval process will be completed.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven south-eastern states. The solar project is part of TVA’s Green Invest program to expand renewable generation capacity in Shelby County, Tennessee. Since 2018, Green Invest has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured over 2,100 MW of solar on behalf of its customers.
Long-term PPA’s are increasingly becoming an option for operators of existing as well as new renewable energy plants. This is where PPA models offer an advantage, since they require no participation in tenders for feed-in tariffs. The result is more flexibility in terms of location, and new projects can be implemented more quickly. RWE already has PPAs in place with key accounts such as Volkswagen, Deutsche Bahn or Bosch to supply green electricity directly.
Source - Strategic Research Institute