Utility company TVA aims for 10 GW of solar energy by 2035, currently has 1 MW in operation – pv magazine USA

May 5, 2022Ryan Kennedy

The Tennessee Valley Administration (TVA), which serves 10 million people in 80,000 square miles in the southeastern United States, has released a sustainability report for fiscal year 2021, showing progress toward climate goals and high carbon-free targets over the next decade.

«The viability and growth of our region is backed by low-cost, reliable and clean energy. Over the past five years, TVA has worked with state and local partners to create about 350,000 jobs and $ 45.9 billion in investments, ”wrote President and CEO Jeff Lesch at the beginning of the report.

Lyash has stated targets of targeting up to 10 GW of solar energy by 2035 and more than 200,000 EV on TVA roads by 2028. Operational and contract solar capacity grew by 77% in fiscal year 2021, and the first solar and solar projects are built on TVA. are underway and are expected to be online by 2024-2025. The company expects by 2024 to have about 2.8 GW of solar energy in operation by TVA.

However, the sustainability report disclosure disclose that TVA has 1 MW of operating solar capacity and does not report a lack of ownership of wind energy assets, as of the report for the 2021 fiscal year. This means that companies will need to deploy solar panels quickly, as this is only 0.01% of the way to its 10 GW target by 2035.

According to the report, capacity in the field of renewable energy owned and operated by TVA, since 2019 has decreased slightly each year. Currently, TVA has 5,386 MW of renewable energy capacity, almost all of which is hydropower. In addition to producing hydropower, TVA reports that it purchased 7,269 MW of renewable energy from external sources in fiscal 2021.

“We have a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 and by 80% by 2035. We are aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, writes Reveka Tolene, TVA’s Chief Sustainability Officer.

TVA has already reduced emissions by 57% since 2005. This was largely due to the elimination of coal-fired power plants and the intensification of more nuclear energy, the share of which increased from 26% to 41%. During this period, the share of coal decreased from 57% to 16%. Solar and wind energy were not significantly represented in the 2005 figures and now occupy only 3% of the energy balance.

Solar investment programs

The utility company said it has allocated nearly $ 3 billion in solar investments since 2018 under the Green Invest program. A big factor in the growth of this program are contracts with such large corporations as Google, Meta (Facebook) and others.

By the end of fiscal year 2020, the federal-owned utility company has contracted 1,178 MW of solar generation on a utility scale. In fiscal 2021, she also implemented the Green Connect program, creating qualified network of solar contractors. The program has reached 19 qualified installers, registered more than 1,000 customers, shipped about 200 installations, inspected 65 installations and more than $ 7.5 million in customer spending on systems in the Green Connect network.

TVA operates another program called Green Switch, which provides customers with 100% renewable energy at a small premium. The utility said the contracts can be signed for as little as $ 2 a month, and customers can compare some or all of their current electricity use with a mix of solar, wind and biomass sources located in the valley. In fiscal year 2021, the mix was about 70% solar, 20% wind and 10% biomass.

The utility said it has invested more than $ 2 billion in improving the transmission system by 2025, possibly paving the way for connecting 10 GW of solar energy by 2035.