The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Origis Energy and Excelsior Energy Capital have started construction on the Skyhawk Solar project, a 100 MW solar facility in Obion County that will supply carbon-free energy to Google’s hyperscale data centers in Clarksville, Tenn. and Jackson County, Ala.
Skyhawk Solar was developed through TVA’s Green Invest, a utility-scale solar solution that offers business and industry an effective, timely and cost-competitive solar solution to aggressively meet sustainability goals. The program matches customer-driven renewable energy commitments with new utility-scale solar facilities that will be built in the Tennessee Valley.
“TVA has the cleanest power system in the southeast and we are helping attract sustainability-focused companies that bring jobs and investments to this region,” says Doug Perry, senior vice president at TVA’s Commercial Energy Solutions. “We are proud to collaborate with Google, Origis and Excelsior to bring more solar generation on the grid for a greener region.”
Skyhawk Solar is expected be operational by the end 2022. Origis will manage and maintain the facility.
“Skyhawk Solar is generating a waterfall of economic benefits in the Obion County community,” states Johan Vanhee, Origis Energy’s chief commercial and procurement officer. “The net economic benefits include $16.9 million in estimated direct local economic benefits during construction and $30 million estimated over the life of the project. Skyhawk Solar helps power Google’s significant local data center investments with clean energy. The leadership and vision of TVA and Google in decarbonizing the grid has and will continue to be a boon for the environment, local economy, and the environment for many years to come. We look forward to serving Google and TVA alongside the Skyhawk project owner Excelsior.”
“The Excelsior Energy Capital team is very pleased to partner with Origis Energy to provide TVA and Google with carbon-free solar to meet their collective clean energy objectives,” adds Chris Moakley, managing partner at Excelsior Energy Capital.
Google has set a 2030 goal to provide 24/7 carbon-free energy worldwide. This goal will be achieved through solar projects like Skyhawk.
“Skyhawk Solar is an important step towards achieving Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy goal in Tennessee and Alabama,” comments Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google. “We’re excited to continue working with our partners on projects like this, which will help expand clean energy and decarbonize electricity grids to benefit all.”
Origis Energy Capital and Excelsior Energy Capital selected Wanzek Construction Inc. for the construction of the project.