First of four Silicon Ranch, TVA solar projects breaks ground at DENSO facility

Independent power producer Silicon Ranch broke ground on a new solar facility at auto part maker DENSO’s Maryville, Tenn., location. This solar farm is the first of four solar production facilities the IPP plans to bring online in Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) territory.

“Part of what makes these solar facilities so special is that every partner involved shares a commitment to the success of this community and the surrounding region,” said Matt Kisber, Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and Chairman. “Silicon Ranch takes great pride in our Tennessee roots, and our colleague who led our development work here is a Maryville native whose family has been here for seven generations.”

As for DENSO, solar power moves it closer to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035. This also strengthens its involvement in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Plants program to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing operations and energy use.

Through collaboration with the City of Maryville Electric Department and Silicon Ranch, DENSO will access a portion of the total 10.5 MW of solar energy produced under TVA’s Generation Flexibility program, starting with the facility located on DENSO’s Maryville campus. The TVA program enables participating local power companies (LPCs) to generate up to 5% of their total energy load to meet the renewable energy goals of their customers, attract sustainability-focused businesses to their communities, and solve individual challenges for their distribution systems.

When this PV project is complete, 100 percent of the electrical needs at DENSO’s Maryville facility will be sourced from renewable energy. The groundbreaking comes after DENSO installed EV chargers this spring.

“Our mission is to contribute to a better world, and as part of that, we’re committed to reducing CO2 emissions, not only through our products, but also in our operations and processes,” said Shinichi Nakamizo, president of DENSO’s Maryville facility and a Senior Director of DENSO Corporation. “We’re grateful to Maryville Electric, Silicon Ranch and TVA for helping us turn our commitment into action. We also thank our Maryville team, whose leadership is instrumental in this project and helps advance local communities toward a clean energy future.”

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/news/first-of-four-silicon-ranch-tva-solar-projects-breaks-ground-at-denso-facility/]