NEXTERA ENERGY Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Meta announced in May the commissioning of the Elora Solar Energy Center: Tennessee\u2019s newest large-scale solar energy project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based in Elora, the solar energy center will generate up to 150 megawatts of solar energy, according to information from a NextEra news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis solar energy project will generate low-cost, homegrown energy, and provide millions of dollars in additional tax revenue to Lincoln County, over the life of the project,\u201d Stuart McCurdy, vice president of development at NextEra said, according to the news release. \u201cWe are pleased to work with TVA and Meta to bring online, Tennessee\u2019s newest solar energy center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A subsidiary of NextEra built, owns, and will operate the Elora Solar Energy Center which has more than 500,000 photovoltaic solar panels converting the sun\u2019s energy into electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the company\u2019s website, NextEra is the world\u2019s largest wind and solar energy generator and one of the country\u2019s leading providers of energy-related services and wholesale power generation. The company also manages more than 17,000 megawatts of North America\u2019s wind and solar generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The center\u2019s construction took almost a year and a half to build. The construction produced a significant economic boost in Lincoln County and Tennessee as the project generated approximately 250 construction jobs and stimulated the purchase of regional goods and services from local vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lincoln County is expected to gain millions in additional revenue from the solar facility over the next 20 years. In order to support the solar facility, Fayetteville Public Utilities will supply electric services to auxiliary systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solar energy center works by converting the sun\u2019s photovoltaic energy into direct current electricity, which is converted into alternate current after traveling from the solar panels through inverters. The energy then travels from the inverter and through a power grid that powers homes and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TVA spokesperson Scott Fiedler said the Elora solar facility is part of TVA\u2019s green invest program where TVA purchases power from solar developers throughout their region. The program began in 2018 and has generated about $3 billion in investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The news release stated that TVA \u2014 a federally owned electric utility corporation in the U.S. \u2014 procured more than 2,800 megawatts of solar energy to promote economic development across seven Southeast states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe see solar as two things: green and green,\u201d Fiedler said to the Exchange Media Group. \u201cGreen for the environment. Green for money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clean energy from the solar facility will also go toward supporting Meta\u2019s regional data centers. Meta is an American multinational technology conglomerate, previously known as Facebook, Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe appreciate the collaboration with NextEra Energy Resources and TVA that is allowing us to bring this new solar energy to the grid in support of our operations,\u201d Bryce Dalley, head of energy supply at Meta, said in the news release. \u201cAt Meta, we are committed to minimizing our environmental impact and investing in communities where we are located. Projects like this one help us to continue to meet our 100% renewable energy goal while bringing jobs and investments to Tennessee.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEXTERA ENERGY Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Meta announced in May the commissioning of the Elora Solar Energy Center: Tennessee\u2019s newest large-scale solar energy project. Based in Elora, the solar energy center will generate up to 150 megawatts of solar energy, according to information from a NextEra news release. \u201cThis solar energy project will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n