Switch flipped on new solar project in West Tennessee
UNION CITY, Tenn. — A switch was flipped, turning light into power.
Skyhawk Solar was developed through the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Invest program.
This is a solar panel field that offers businesses and industries an effective and timely energy alternative.
“Today is a terrific day. It is a celebration today. We are putting in service the Skyhawk Solar power plant. It is a collaborative effort between a lot of different groups. Excelsior, we’re the long-term owner. Origis, which helped develop the project along with Wanzek, the construction manager. But also the great partnership that TVA is giving us as well,” said Chris Moakley, the co-founder of Excelsior Energy Capital.
Skyhawk consists of almost 300,000 solar panels that can provide power to nearly 21,000 homes.
“We are producing renewable energy. And we are bringing renewable energy to Obion County. We will be here for decades to come. This should be in place for 30 to 40 years, so we’re quite excited about it,” Moakley said.
With this talk of renewable energy powering so many homes, we wanted to find out what this means for the future of West Tennessee.
“For West Tennessee and really the country as a whole, the production of electricity is a recipe. Renewable energy, solar, wind and even energy storage through battery storage, it combines through other forms of generation that is really helping us move forward in the United States not only for the production of energy, but for national security as well,” Moakley said.
The Skyhawk facility is estimated to provide almost $31 million in total economic benefits locally during the project’s life.
The project has already produced an estimated $23 million for the local economy during it’s construction.
Another representative that was present was Google. Skyhawk Solar will be supplying carbon-free energy to Google’s data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama.
You can read a full news release about the project here.
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