By Terry Wimberley, President & CEO of Paris Board of Public Utilities
Paris, Tenn., July 11, 2023. Two years ago, TVA announced its Generation Flexibility program, which allowed local powers companies (LPCs) like Paris Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to reduce the amount of energy they consumed from TVA by locally generating up to 5% of their energy needs. The program aimed to meet the renewable energy needs of customers, provide local, reliable, cost-effective energy generation, and to improve the carbon position of the entire region.
When informed of the program, my team members and I at the Paris BPU jumped at the chance to welcome Silicon Ranch into our community as a partner and neighbor to the people of Henry County. The families and businesses we serve are accustomed to reliable and affordable energy, and we are always in search of ways to buttress and grow our reputation as a dependable source of stability in volatile times. We’re proud of our earned reputation of offering stable rates to our customers throughout our organization’s history, and Silicon Ranch played a huge role in helping us maintain that reputation through its Paris Solar Farm – Puryear in the face of the inflationary pressures and cost rises that have been visited upon the U.S. over recent years.
Our number one consideration when embarking upon our partnership with Silicon Ranch was the opportunity to save money on costs and pass those savings on to our customers, and were able to do so even in the face of historic cost increases we’ve seen across other parts of our supply chain.
However, as I reflect on the finished work of the Paris Solar Farm— Puryear, located just off of Highway 140 for any readers inclined to visit, I can’t shake the impression that industry-leading clean energy production is just the thin end of the Silicon Ranch wedge. On just 80 acres of land, this solar farm generates 6.75 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 1,000 homes annually, at a 30-year fixed price to purchase outlet with an estimated $300,000 of annual power cost savings. But on top of these stellar performance metrics is Silicon Ranch’s distinctive commitment to owning and operating all of its projects throughout their lifespan. This commitment has been received here in Puryear in the spirit in which it was given; as an expression of confidence in the long-term flourishing of our community and a desire to contribute that that flourishing as a neighbor and not just to contract the project and sell it to the highest bidder.
Pursuant to this approach, Clearloop, Silicon Ranch’s carbon solutions platform, and Rivian, an American builder of all-electric vehicles, partnered to support 1MW of the 6.75 megawatts generated at the Paris Solar Farm—Puryear. This partnership with our community was consolidated by the joint unveiling in January by Clearloop and Rivian of one of Rivian’s Waypoints electric vehicle (EV) charging site in Paris, Tennessee, displayed prominently at the city’s Eiffel Tower Park. Rivian’s Waypoints chargers are located at eleven state parks across Tennessee: Radnor Lake, Cumberland Mountain, South Cumberland, Montgomery Bell, Cove Lake, Indian Mountain, Meeman-Shelby Forest, Natchez Trace, Warrior’s Path, Fall Creek Falls, and Pickwick Landing. As of December 2022, Rivian’s 1 megawatt portion of the Paris Solar Farm – Puryear was projected annually to generate more renewable energy than is needed for all these sites combined.
The community-partnered ethos of Silicon Ranch and Paris BPU has been most prominently displayed by the eagerness of the Henry County community to reciprocate in kind. I was thrilled by the participation of our customers in the town hall events hosted by Silicon Ranch to listen to them and learn from their perspectives ahead of formulating any plan of action, and am even more gratified by the presence of our public school students at the solar farm through field trips and educational tours of the facility. Local businesses here in Henry County, like Republic Doors in McKenzie, are taking advantage of Paris BPU’s partnership with these clean energy innovators to work with Silicon Ranch and Clearloop on their own decarbonization goals, and local officials have welcomed our partners with hospitality and good sense, well aware of the property tax dollars that the solar farm will provide for further municipal investment in our community.
The Paris Solar Farm has been an unreserved success. Thanks in large part to TVA’s Generation Flex program, Paris BPU and Silicon Ranch have come together through this project to provide an uncomplicated and historic economic opportunity for Henry County. Were TVA to free up a further 5% of energy production down the road, my team and I would work with Silicon Ranch again without a second thought.
About Paris BPU
Established in 1938, Paris BPU is a municipal utility that provides electric, water and wastewater services to residents of Paris and Henry County as a means of promoting economic development and enhancing quality of life in the community. Serving over 21,000 homes and businesses, Paris BPU strives to provide reliable, safe and affordable services to our community.
About Silicon Ranch
Founded in 2011, Silicon Ranch is a fully integrated provider of customized renewable energy, carbon, and battery storage solutions for a diverse set of partners across North America. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the country, with a portfolio that includes more than five gigawatts of solar and battery storage systems that are contracted, under construction, or operating across the U.S. and Canada. Silicon Ranch owns and operates every project in its portfolio and has maintained an unblemished track record of project execution, having successfully commissioned every project it has contracted in its history. Silicon Ranch has the largest utility scale agrivoltaics portfolio in the country under Regenerative Energy® its nationally recognized holistic approach to project design, construction, and land management. This model incorporates regenerative ranching and other regenerative land management practices to restore livelihoods and soil health, biodiversity, and water quality. In 2021, Silicon Ranch acquired Clearloop, which helps businesses of all sizes reclaim their carbon footprint with a direct investment in building new solar projects while helping to bring renewable energy to American communities that can benefit the most from these projects. To learn more, visit siliconranch.com and clearloop.us. Follow Silicon Ranch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.