PADUCAH (WSIL) -- The Tennessee Valley Authority approved the nation’s first-of-its-kind pilot program to determine if closed coal ash sites are suitable for utility-scale solar projects.
Pending environmental reviews and regulatory approval, the $216 million pilot project would explore repurposing the capped coal ash storage pit at the Shawnee Fossil Plant in Paducah into a solar farm.
The TVA says the Paducah project would generate 100 megawatts and cover 309 acres of land.Â
We’re building the energy system of the future on the legacy of the past, pursuing a 100 MW solar generation project on a closed coal ash site at the Shawnee Plant in Kentucky.
� Tennessee Valley Authority (@TVAnews)
More about this first-of-its-kind project and today's TVA board meeting:
“The space between execution and aspiration is where innovation lives,� said Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO. “Achieving a net-zero clean energy future is critical to our nation’s energy security goals and requires innovative thinking and exploring new technologies. TVA was created as an innovation company and is uniquely positioned to demonstrate these technologies for the rest of the industry � both in the U.S. and around the world.�
The TVA says this will help push forward their decarbonization efforts, which aim to add 10,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2035.
