The nation’s largest public utility continues to lag behind much of the Southeast in solar growth, and the gap is getting wider as critics claim the Tennessee Valley Authority has stunted the renewable technology in an attempt to avoid downsizing its infrastructure.
TVA is in the midst of its slowest year of solar growth since 2011 after years of falling behind much of the region, according to data provided by a coalition of groups in favor of solar energy. TVA’s three solar programs are all down drastically in growth year-over-year, with one failing to sign any new contracts in 2018.
“I think it would be smart for TVA to be looking over the horizon rather than trying to discourage rapid uptake of renewable power sources,” said former EPA Chief of Staff Michael Vandenbergh, now a leading scholar in environmental and energy law at Vanderbilt University. “I think in the long run, to avoid becoming the Sears or [JC]Penney of a few decades from now, the smart move would be to embrace the future rather than to try to slow it down.”
North Carolina, Georgia and Florida all exponentially outproduce Tennessee in solar energy. North Carolina soon will have more than 6,000 megawatts of solar power. Georgia Power has surpassed 2,000 megawatts and is quickly trending toward 3,000, and Florida is approaching 2,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, TVA just recently reached 500 megawatts, and solar growth could slow more in coming years.
TVA conducts three programs: Green Power Providers for residential and small businesses, Distributed Solar Solutions for larger community scale solar in partnership with local power companies, and large-scale solar through a request for proposals process. Growth for each program has slowed. Green Power Providers is down about 66 percent from last year, the Distributed Solar program is being re-examined after its pilot phase, and large-scale solar requests for proposals sought last year have yet to be awarded, according to a TVA spokesman.