Ranch mulls 2nd solar farm
Power producer has been buying options on land north of Memphis
Electricity producer Silicon Ranch Corp. could add acres of solar panels near its solar power farm north of Memphis, funneling more energy into TVA’S grid as Facebook and other expanding companies ask for electricity made from renewable sources.
Silicon Ranch would expand near its 420-acre Millington solar station, which opened in April 2019 as the largest solar farm in Tennessee.
In recent weeks, the company has begun to pay for options to buy farmland at Millington to open way for more solar energy production, area landowners say.
‘‘We are seeking to invest more in the community,’’ said Matt Beasley, Silicon Ranch chief commercial officer, noting the Nashville-based firm has not made a final decision to proceed with the expansion project.
The additional solar panels could cover hundreds of acres and about double Silicon Ranch’s power output in Millington.
Officials in 12,000-population Millington
have been trying to attract industry since the U.S. Navy training base was closed more than two decades ago.
Employment fell almost in half to about 8,000 on the base, named Naval Support Activity Mid-south. Even though the power flows into Tennessee Valley Authority's system, the solar farm's environmentally friendly image could help draw new companies looking to enhance their own green brand.
“Some businesses and industries want to be good corporate citizens by buying green power,” said Charles Gulotta, executive director of the Millington Industrial Development Board.
The current solar station, built at a cost of $100 million, is scaled for 53 megawatts, enough energy to supply about 5,300 households for a year.
A U.S. Navy initiative seeking more renewable energy for its bases led Silicon Ranch to Millington in a complex deal that includes a Tennessee Valley Authority contract to buy the power from the solar farm. Beasley said the firm does not disclose its production costs or sales revenue for the solar station.
Silicon Ranch sends the electricity into the TVA network for distribution across the region. If TVA power lines are disrupted, the Navy can draw all the energy produced at the 420-acre solar farm into the Millington naval installation, which now houses a large part of the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
A solar power expansion would not be geared specifically for Millington. Adding solar panels would meet a broad demand for renewable energy across the Southeast, Beasley said.
Near Bowling Green, Kentucky, Silicon Ranch has launched a solar station at the request of Facebook and General Motors. The electricity flows into TVA for use across its network and also satisfies GM and Facebook requests for greater output of locally-produced renewable energy, Beasley said.
Expecting similar requests from other institutions, Silicon Ranch aims to expand solar production an additional 1 gigawatt by 2024. In December, the company received $225 million from investors Royal Dutch Shell, Toronto-dominion Bank's TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund and Mountain Group Partners, a Nashville tech investor. Shell, the Netherlands-based oil company, bought 43% of Silicon Ranch in 2018.
Solar stations operated by various companies throughout the country supply 91 billion kwh of electricity, or 2.3% of the power consumed annually in the United States, a federal report shows. The U.S. Department of Energy and other federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management have actively encouraged solar power production.
In a bid to furnish more solar energy, Silicon Ranch is considering installing storage batteries at some sites including possibly Millington, Beasley said. The batteries could release power at night and during cloudy days when energy production stops. Memphis averages about 218 sunny days each year.
Silicon Ranch currently operates 140 solar farms in 14 states with the most units clustered in West Tennessee and Northeast Mississippi. In Memphis, the firm operates solar stations at Agricenter International, Memphis Bioworks and Nike's North America Logistics campus.
Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen became chairman of Silicon Ranch when it was begun in 2011. Founders included Reagan Farr and Matt Kisber, who were former state commissioners under Bredesen.