Knoxville becoming top solar power city

Knoxville is emerging as the No. 1 city in the Southeast and one of the top cities in the nation for solar power investment.

KUB announced last week it had selected Origis Energy to develop a 200-megawatt solar farm in Clay County, Mississippi, to support Knoxville’s commitment to moving to more renewable energy. KUB’s investment in the project helped enable 50 megawatts of new battery storage technology that will increase power grid resiliency.

“We take our commitment of being good stewards of our environment seriously, and we are thrilled to work with TVA to put our community on the map for renewable energy,” said Gabriel Bolas, KUB president and CEO.

Last November, KUB announced 20% of Knoxville’s electricity will be generated from renewable sources.

Origis Energy will supply solar energy through a long-term power purchase agreement via TVA’s Green Invest program.

“This is our third utility-scale solar facility in Mississippi with TVA, and it demonstrates the success of Green Invest to connect local communities, private business and public power through renewable energy,” said Johan Vanhee, Origis Energy chief commercial officer and chief procurement officer.

Since 2018, TVA’s Green Invest has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured more than 2,100 megawatts of solar on behalf of its customers.