Tennessee’s Loudon Utility Board (LUB) has selected Sunrise Energy Ventures to develop the Dancing Horse Solar project, targeted for construction in 2022. Located in Monroe, the 7.5-MWAC facility will power over 1,000 homes with carbon free energy and will assist LUB in controlling rates with customers. Sunrise is developing the project in partnership with Earth-Right Energy, a Tennessee-based solar developer with over 13 years of experience in the Valley.
Beginning in August 2019, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began offering local power companies (LPCs) the flexibility to meet 5% of their power needs through local generating sources, like wind, solar and natural gas. A key requirement of participating in the program is signing the 20-year TVA long-term partnership agreement, which is available to all 154 LPCs. LUB, one of the Valley’s early adopters to embrace renewables, issued an RFP for solar in March of 2021.
“LUB is excited about the opportunity the flexibility contract offers. We selected Sunrise as our solution provider because their project offered maximum value to our customer, better helping us control rates, and they have a long and credible track record of success in the industry. They have been a fantastic partner throughout the process, tailoring the project to meet our needs,” said Ty Ross, LUB general manager. “Additionally, we are thrilled to be using Renewable Energy on our network, and are hoping to leverage the Renewable Energy Credits the system produces to attract and retain industrial customers to this part of Tennessee.”
Sunrise began developing solar in TVA’s service territory, with more than five developed facilities that remain operational across the Tennessee Valley. On behalf of LUB, the company will develop, fund, construct, and operate the solar facility, selling power to LUB through a power purchase agreement.
“Sunrise is thrilled to develop solar in TVA’s service territory. We deployed some of our earliest projects here, and are grateful to remain a trusted partner to help Loudon deliver affordable clean power to communities they serve,” said Dean Leischow, Sunrise CEO. “TVA is aggressively advancing renewables in the region. More importantly they are offering LPCs the opportunity to procure flexible generation to control customer rates, while attracting new business to the region. We couldn’t be happier than to support Loudon in this pivotal program.”
