Commercial, Industrial, Solar  -  March 30, 2021

Facebook and General Motors add solar from TVA project

Facebook and General Motors will participate in the Tennessee Valley Authority's Green Invest renewable energy program, allowing the TVA to build the Logan County solar farm, featuring the largest solar plus storage project in its Kentucky service area.

Facebook's regional data center operations will use 145 MW of solar power from the new solar farm for its regional data center. Facebook’s investment helped to enable the addition of 120 MWh of new battery storage technology for the project, according to a statement from TVA. Facebook’s renewable commitments in the region now total 742 MW of solar and 80 MW of battery storage.

"Green Invest makes it possible for our operations in the Tennessee Valley to be supported by new solar energy constructed in the region," said Urvi Parekh, head of Renewable Energy at Facebook in a statement. "This solar and storage facility, less than 50 miles from our Gallatin data center, will be Facebook's first renewable energy project in Kentucky, which marks an important milestone for our global portfolio."

General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly will run with 28 megawatts of solar energy from Logan County, only 30 miles away, as it makes their Chevrolet Corvettes. In May, General Motors said it would use Green Invest to power its Spring Hill Manufacturing plant with 100% renewable energy. Solar energy from the latest announcement will help General Motors reach its goal to become carbon neutral in its products and operations by 2040.

"We are committed to sourcing 100% renewable energy for our U.S. operations by 2030," said Kristen Siemen, GM chief sustainability officer. "Using our scale and relationships to increase renewable energy demand and availability in local communities will help create a future with zero emissions."

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