Why Knoxville Utility Bills Continue Going Up

Although more energy-efficient technology continues to develop, utility bills are currently at an all-time high in Knoxville. Knoxville Utility Board data reveals that utility bills have increased by as much as 80 percent in the last 20 years due to fixed-rate increases by KUB. According to the data, a house that uses 1,000 kilowatts per hour in a month would have paid $60.07 in 1998, but the same amount would cost a resident $108.25 today. 

The Knoxville Utility Board charged customers just $5.32 in basic service fees from 1997 to 2003, which is the amount customers pay each month to use KUB's electricity. Energy usage on top of that was $10.28 per kilowatt-hour. In 2004, fixed rates increased by 77 cents and the cost-per-kilowatt-hour went up by about $2.50. In 2011, KUB decreased the cost-per-kilowatt-hour by $2 and instead added $1.91 to its basic service fees. Every year since then basic service fees have increased by $1 and will continue to increase by another $1.50 this year through 2020.

KUB spokesman Mike Bolin states that, "these rate increases of 1 percent or so per year have been about a plan to replace poles, substations, all the infrastructure to provide service." 

Steven Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said he would rather see rate increases applied to usage charges. "Increasing the fixed fee has a number of very important negative financial consequences for customers, particularly low-income and lower-electricity users like senior citizens," Smith told the KUB at a recent meeting.

Beyond financial costs, Smith said he is concerned the move toward fixed rates on utilities may destroy the economics around energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Environmental groups have explained that residential customers are trapped into the rate increases if they live in the inner Tennessee valley because there are no other power suppliers. Certain residential distributors on the outer ends of the valley can choose to get their power from other nearby suppliers. Unfortunately, distributors in the inner valley do not have this option. By federal law, no other power suppliers can use TVA power lines to reach customers in the Valley, so distributors like KUB must get power from TVA because it is the only local option.

Outraged ratepayers attended a November TVA Board meeting to dispute the new fixed-rate proposal and called the company a "monopoly."

At the meeting, TVA CEO Bill Johnson said the utility did not have a "monopoly" on power supply because its distributing utilities are free to get their power elsewhere.

Hurricane Devastated Areas Receiving First Solar Relief from Tennessee Production Facility

Aldelano is a Global leader in Industrial-Grade Solar Technology, which has developed a line of products that provide off-grid refrigeration, water generation, and power generation after a natural disaster. Their products provide relief by supplying clean drinking water, refrigeration/freezing cold storage, and renewable power to communities during times of devastation when other power sources are unavailable.

Two of the newest designs include the Aldelano Solar PowerPak/Generator™, which can power up to 7 homes, and the Aldelano Solar BackPack™, a unit that can be connected to an existing insulated room to provide solar-powered refrigeration and freezing. Other products include the flagship Solar ColdBox™, providing industrial sized cold storage including refrigeration and sub-zero freezing, the Solar Chiller™, providing a temperature controlled environment for agriculture and other storage needs, the Solar WaterMaker™, which extracts moisture from the air and purifies it for drinking, and the Solar IceMaker™, which converts up to 2,300 lbs of ice per day.

Aldelano is currently shipping Solar Coldboxes, PowerPaks, and nearly 100 Solar WaterMakers to Antiqua, Barbuda, and British Virgin Islands after Aldelano’s founder, Al Hollingsworth, visited the Caribbean Islands and met with government officials in the area. Three powerful hurricanes decimated areas of the Caribbean region, leaving dozens of people dead, millions without power or safe drinking water, and countless homes destroyed. During natural disasters like this, the primary focus of each day is providing citizens with basic necessities, like food, shelter, and clean drinking water, and Aldelano products make this goal more accessible.

Al Hollingsworth, and his wife, Hattie, have seen the sickness and disease overseas first-hand, which inspired them to brainstorm ways to return with helping hands. Once the company developed its first solar product and saw its effectiveness, they quickly saw the potential the technology could have globally.

“Nations are rich in natural resources, yet are poor because they don’t have systems in place to have access to clean water and preserve their food from harvest to market. We are opening people’s eyes to their own resources and empowering them to birth their dreams and visions. People are dying, and our products are a needed solution, not a vanity ‘want’,” states founder, Hollingsworth. Aldelano solar products have the capacity to improve the lives of many people in the future.

TVA Kills Major Wind Project

TVA has recently shut its door to an important project regarding renewable energy, that had the potential of producing 3,500 megawatts of clean energy to the Midwest.

Six years ago, the Tennessee Valley Authority signed a contract with Clean Line Energy Partners LLC to consider a long-term power supply arrangement along a 700-mile wind energy transmission line that the company proposed to build through Oklahoma and Arkansas. The high-voltage, direct-current transmission line would carry wind-generated electricity from western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas, and the Texas Panhandle to TVA, Arkansas and other eastern markets. The line, expected to be completed by 2020, would end in Memphis, and TVA could have had linked to it to use the wind-generated power for its own distribution across the seven-state TVA region.

Bill Johnson, president of TVA, announced that TVA would officially back out of the plan. Johnson claimed it didn't make economic sense because TVA already has enough power-generating capacity and, with nuclear power, already is on path to generate more than half of its power from carbon-free sources. He expressed that the unreliability of wind power would require TVA to build other backup power generators, including natural gas plants, that would offset the promised savings from the wind-generated power sources alone.

His claims, however, sound disingenuous, at best. If TVA has "enough power generating capacity," then the wind power would be treated much as TVA's current hydro plants are treated: When the rivers are high, TVA uses the cheap water power, and when the wind in the plains is high, TVA would use the wind power. Existing gas-fired plants that can be turned up and down — even off — as necessary would be both filler and mainstay.

"TVA killed what could have been one of the biggest and most important renewable energy projects in America," Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Knoxville, told Times Free Press Business Editor Dave Flessner.

Sadly, a more likely scenario for the sudden wind change is politics: both the opposition to anything wind by Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander and the new coal-blinded, climate change-denying Trump administration. Alexander, who thinks wind towers are ugly, took to the floor of the U.S. Senate last year to denounce Clean Line's project as unnecessary since TVA doesn't foresee the need for more power in the foreseeable future.

New Poll: Tennessee Wants Access To Solar Energy

Support for solar energy usage among the public of Tennessee is high. Eighty-one percent of Tennessee voters support the growth of solar energy, and many want it installed in their own homes as well. These polling results come from the conservative polling firm, North Star Opinion Research, and the survey was conducted among voters from a variety of ages, races, genders and geographic locations. 

Brian Bickel, who sits on the board of the Tennessee Solar Industries Association, says the results confirm what the industry is seeing.

"I'm not surprised by the support for solar at all," he says. "I think, in this day and age most people want to see more of it. They recognize the value of clean and renewable energy. I think they expect their utility to support them in their efforts to generate clean power on site."

Bickel says the confirmation of public support comes at a critical time when the Tennessee Valley Authority is making solar less economic and accessible for customers. The regional power provider does have a program allowing customers to sell up to 50 kilowatts of green energy back through their local power provider in the service area.

The survey also revealed that people would prefer to pay for their electric bill based on usage rather than a fixed rate, which is what TVA proposed earlier this year. 

Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, says the agency is proposing policies that would charge people regardless of how much energy they use.

"What TVA wants you to do is pay whether you use electricity or not, and they're the only business that I know of that wants you to have to pay something whether you use their product or not, and it's really grossly unfair," laments Smith. 

According to industry estimates, solar panels can cost around $20,000 or more to install, but Bickel says property owners are making an investment that will ultimately pay for itself.

Tennessee ranks 20th across the country in terms of installed solar capacity, but Bickel and others say with 200 days of sun on average each year, the state has the potential to harness much more energy from the sun and would greatly benefit from taking advantage of this renewable resource.

The Next Big Advance In Solar Photovoltaics Expected In 2 Years Or Less

Solar energy was orignally commonly obtained from uni-solar thin film flexible solar PV panels, but a more cost-efficient method is on the rise. From the start, the uni-solar models were popular because of their price, but due to increasing prices of polysilicon, this method is being abandoned. Early applications demonstrated the need for thin-film PV panels, for uses such as landfills and metal roofs, because traditional solar panels were impractical here.  While there is still a need for these thin-film sheets, they have yet to be developed to survive in a competitive environment at a cheaper price.

Hanergy, a Chinese conglomerate, is the lead producer specializing in thin film manufacturing.  Hanergy believes that thin-film and flexibility will define the future of the PV industry. The weight of the thin film produced by MiaSole, a division of Hanergy here in the United States, is 0.6 lbs/sq ft. This is an advanced CIGS (copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide) technology and has about 16% efficiency.

Until now, the promise of 'zero-energy' buildings has been held back by two main obstacles: the cost of the thin-film solar cells and the fact they're constructed from scarce, and highly toxic, materials.

The University of New South Wales is working to overcome these obstacles. A group at the university, led by Dr. Xiaojing Hao of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at the UNSW School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, has achieved the world's highest efficiency rating for a full-sized thin-film solar cell using a competing thin-film technology, known as CZTS.Unlike its thin-film competitors, CZTS cells are made from abundant materials: copper, zinc, tin and sulphur. Hao's team believes thin-film photovoltaic cells that can be rigid or flexible, and durable and cheap enough to be widely integrated into buildings to generate electricity from the sunlight that strikes structures such as glazing, façades, roof tiles and windows. "This is the first step on CZTS's road to beyond 20% efficiency, and marks a milestone in its journey from the lab to commercial product," said Hao. "There is still a lot of work needed to catch up with CdTe and CIGS, in both efficiency and cell size, but we are well on the way.".

However, because CZTS is cheaper and easier to bring from lab to commercialization than other thin-film solar cells, it is likely that applications are near term. University of South Wales is collaborating with a number of large companies keen to develop these panels well before the technology reaches 20% efficiency goal, Hao says, within the next few years.

Testimony Before the TVA Regional Energy Resource Council

Tennessee Solar Energy Association provides the following testimony in the form of questions.

We ask for a status of the pumped store(s) as the energy storage potential for accepting solar generated energy for night time use. What is the condition of the major pumped store at Raccoon Mountain? How is it being used today? Are there reasons for not employing the store for excess solar energy? There are other smaller locations with pumped store capabilities; are they being used? Pumped store is a lot cheaper than the cost of storing energy in batteries?

Another item is the monthly bill. We ask that our monthly bills be more specific including all charges detailed. Are there fixed charges that are not detailed in our bill? There was an announcement that the rates would drop in the next month. Is that for all categories of customers? I keeping the charter to produce all electricity for sale in the valley, then please let us know what other rates are offered to non-residential customers.

Jim Hackworth, President

Tennessee Solar Energy Association

New Solar Facility In Jackson

West Madison County will soon have a new solar energy facility, that has been awarded by Jackson Energy Authority. It will consist of a two-megawatt solar generation project through the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Distributed Solar Solutions pilot program, and construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2018 and be completed by late 2018 or early 2019.

Bruce Dorris, communications manager of JEA, said this project will be an industrial community solar project and give local companies a renewable energy source in Jackson.

“So many of the industrial customers, whether they’re a nationwide company or regional company, they’re required to have a certain amount of renewable energy credit,” Dorris said. “As you produce renewable energy, solar in this case, that system is accredited with a certain amount of green credit, because you’re making electricity that is not filled with fossil fuels. Those green credits are what companies are in need of to satisfy certain federal requirements.”

JEA partnered with Silicon Ranch of Nashville, who will fund, build, own and operate the new solar energy facility.

“Sustainability is an important aspect of the industrial community’s culture,” Jim Ferrell, president/CEO of JEA, said in a press release. “Jackson Energy Authority is proud to partner with TVA and Silicon Ranch Corporation in the development of this community solar project, which will allow us to assist our local industrial community in meeting their corporate sustainability goals in a cost-effective manner.”

New South Wales Consumers Saved AU$3.3 In A Year Through Rooftop Solar

Rooftop solar PV systems are estimated to have saved Australian state of New South Wales between AU$2.2 billion and AU$3.3 billion (US$1.7 billion to 2.6 billion) in just one year, according to a report commissioned by campaign group, Solar Citizens. Solar Citizens said this report is proof of the considerable benefits associated with solar energy and shows that people are ready to make the switch.

The report analyzed the period from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017, and was delivered by Energy Synapse, an energy market consultancy. Energy Synapse found that without rooftop solar energy, electricity prices would have been between 33% and 50% higher. Costs were reduced by AU$1,400 to AU$2,200 for each megawatt hour produced by solar energy. The biggest monthly cost reduction was AU$740 million in February 2017.

Solar Citizens accused the federal government of political point scoring when it comes to renewable energy and appealed for increased use of solar energy.

Shani Tager, senior campaigner at Solar Citizens, said, “This shoots an enormous hole in the federal Government’s ongoing rubbishing of renewable energy."

Rooftop solar has been taken up by 1.7 million households and businesses in Australia and 370,000 in New South Wales. Solar Citizens is expecting solar energy to continue to expand in Australia.

The Elephant Sanctuary is Now Home to Solar Energy

North America's largest refuge for elephants, located in Middle Tennessee, has just added rooftop solar panels. This Elephant Sanctuary has provided 27 elephants that are retired from zoos and circuses with 2,700 acres of safe space and companionship.

In downtown Hohenwald, Tennessee, the public can experience The Elephant Sanctuary's Outdoor Classroom that consists of educational murals, sculptures, and exhibits on wild elephants. The indoor Elephant Discovery Center will also reopen soon with new exhibits and activities. One of the newest features is a 40kW rooftop solar PV system, owned by Good Earth Energy LLC, that began powering the area last week. This is Good Earth Energy LLC’s third solar project. Elephant Sanctuary plans to incorporate solar education at the Discovery Center and feature real-time system performance on a digital display.

"Solar is a win-win situation for me," says Bruce Clark, sole member of Good Earth Energy LLC. "I'm from Kentucky, and my first motivation was to offset the need for coal that comes from taking the tops off of mountains in Appalachia," he explains. "I receive the added benefit of a federal tax credit and depreciation," he says.

Bruce Clark chose The Elephant Sanctuary as the location for this solar project after being inspired from seeing a video about a 50 year old elephant, Shirley who moved to The Elephant Sanctuary from Louisiana. (Watch the heartwarming video  here)

"I reached out to the folks at The Elephant Sanctuary, and they were highly motivated to help make the solar project happen. They are committed to sustainability," he says.

"We want to be a model for environmental sustainability," says Kate Mason, Communications Coordinator at The Elephant Sanctuary. "Solar panels fit into our mission which focuses on wildlife education and fostering respect for wildlife and the planet," she says.

University of Tennessee Shows It's Easy To Be Green

Preston Jacobsen, Sustainability manager at UT, says the University of Tennessee is continuing to become closer to reaching sustainability goals. The University of Tennessee has recently made it onto two prestigious lists for sustainability.

The Princeton Review considers 2,200 universities, and Tennessee has made it on the list of the 350 Green Schools. The Sierra Club has also moved Tennessee up from 96 to 80 on its list of “Cool Schools” For Energy Sustainability.

The university has a goal of gaining “carbon neutrality” by 2061 by cutting dependence on carbon-producing energy and balancing the amount of carbon released with an equivalent carbon credit.

“Here we are 2017 and we are 48 percent from the baseline to date. We are well ahead of our curve,” Jacobsen said.

This goal is being met through several energy efforts, including solar panels on the eleventh street parking garage. The energy from these panels is used to power electric and hybrid vehicle refueling stations, and the rest goes into the campus energy grid. These and other solar projects are generating 70,000 kilowatt hours of energy on campus per year.

Other initiatives on campus include using geothermal heating and cooling in sorority village, implementing rain gardens and bio swells along Cumberland Avenue, using recycled rainwater from rooftops for washers in dorms, and being among the top five university football stadiums for waste recycling. The list goes and will continue to grow as the University of Tennessee continues to push for sustainable initiatives.

“We are very strategic in what we do,” says Jacobsen. “We don’t throw projects out and take them back. We can cut through issues by using numbers to show that we are able to save the campus dollars, that we are able to make it environmentally sustainable and that we can make it a better place to learn, live and work.”

Tesla Turns Power Back On In Children's Hospital In Puerto Rico

Tesla has used its solar panels and batteries to restore electricity to San Juan's Hospital del Niño after being hit by Hurricane Irma. This will hopefully be the first of many solar and battery Tesla projects coming to Puerto Rico. The hospital's new energy system, which is set up right in the parking lot of the hospital, allows it to generate all of the energy the hospital could need, according to El Nuevo Dia. This includes being able to offer services to about 75 permanent hospital residents and about 3,000 younger temporary patients. This solar array is a donation to the hospital from Tesla, and Tesla would like to make further deals in Puerto Rico once they have fully recovered from the disaster.

The U.S. Solar Energy's New Growth Region: Trump Country

Donald Trump’s administration has claimed that renewable energy is too expensive and dependent on government subsidies and vowed to revive the coal industry. The solar power industry, however, is growing across the country, with continually decreasing costs as technology improves.

Solar energy continues to grow in many southern states that voted for Trump, and solar firms in this region are continuously gaining more investments. At this rate, the investments in solar energy will most likely only continue to increase, counteracting Trump’s plan to revive coal.

Solar expansion in the middle of the country is offsetting its slower growth in the California and Northeast markets. Environmental initiatives have typically relied on more liberal coastal states, so this marks a big shift for the solar industry to rely more on southern states and mid-country states.

“Climate change has never come up in any discussion about why we would do a project,” said Matt Beasley, chief marketing officer for Silicon Ranch Corp, a solar developer based in Nashville, Tennessee. “It is always about the economics.”

The costs of solar power generation have dropped 85 percent since 2009, making its unsubsidized cost competitive with natural gas prices.

Solar projects are estimated to receive $12.3 billion in tax breaks between 2016 and 2020. Trump has never specifically proposed repealing such incentives but has expressed skepticism about the viability of solar and wind, calling both "very, very expensive".

The president’s Energy Secretary Rick Perry last month called for new rules to subsidize coal and nuclear energy, arguing that the rise of weather-dependent solar and wind power would make the grid less reliable. Republicans, however, are outspoken in their continuing support for solar incentives, using an economic rather than environmental rationale.

Officials Gather For Solar Park Plug In

In Cookeville the newly constructed Highlands Solar Array is now up and running. This project has involved a lot of partnerships and discussion for over two years now.

It 2014, city officials met with Restoration Services Inc. to discuss the construction of a one megawatt solar array in the Highlands Business Park. The engineering, procurement and construction of the solar array were performed by Vis Solis with TVAEnergy as the primary subcontractor.

"As an environmental services firm, it's very important to our company and employees that we engage in sustainability initiatives," Paul Clay, president of Restoration Services Inc., said. "We're putting the power on the grid and we think it will be attractive to businesses as they look to relocate or locate here in Highlands Business Park."

This solar array will have to capacity to power 156 houses per year and the greenhouse gas offset for this project is equal to 222 vehicles per year. The project will sell electric power to the Tennessee Valley Authority through an interconnection with the Cookeville Electric Department. It has 2,506 solar modules at 325 to 330 watts per module.

"Our team is excited to bring another 1MW of clean solar power to the grid for Tennessee," Carlos Mayer, president and CEO of Vis Solis.

Due to the city's commitment to sustainability, the Highlands Business Park was named a Sustainable Business Park by the TVA Sustainable Communities Program, one of 28 designated communities in the seven state TVA service area. Barry Brown, president of Tennessee Valley Alternative Energy, said this gives companies option of investing in clean energy.

"Because this (solar array) is located in this business park, everyone wins. This is a good way to not only promote renewable energy but economic development," Brown said.

Lowndes County Supervisors To Work With Solar Companies

Solar energy usage will potentially expand in Lowndes County, Mississippi. Lowndes County Supervisors say they will work with two interested solar companies in the surrounding area.

At a meeting on October 13, a LINK presentation named EON Climate Renewables and Next ERA as solar energy firms that have reached out to TVA for potential locations. Supervisors approved tax incentives through a resolution of intent. This means that if either company chooses to continue with locating in the southern Lowndes County area, some of the financial burdens will be removed.

Although these potential firms are not expected to bring a large number of jobs to the area, solar energy created at the sites would be provided to TVA.

Trump Administration Repeals Clean Power Plan

Under President Trump, the U.S. EPA has submitted new regulations to replace the Clean Power Plan objectives established by the Obama administration to reduce carbon emissions.

“The war on coal is over. Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., I will be signing a proposed rule to withdraw the so-called Clean Power Plan of the past administration and thus begin the effort to withdraw that rule.” Scott Pruitt, administer of the EPA, said at a press conference.

The agency's new direction follows an executive order of President Trump in March, which removed restrictions on coal, oil, natural gas, and shale energy. The order also directed all government agencies to review existing actions that "harm domestic energy production."

More recently, Energy Secretary Rick Perry directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish new rules requiring regional market operators to develop price support measures, which favor coal and nuclear plants. These rules require market operators to allow the "full recovery of costs" of plants which provide grid reliability services and have a 90-day fuel supply on site in the event of supply disruptions caused by events, such as extreme weather.

For now, the federal Investment Tax Credit which has supported solar power promotion remains in place, and in many states solar power generation has become highly competitive against other generation types such as coal-fired plants.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated that even if the CPP is not implemented, low natural gas prices and current tax credits will make natural gas and renewable energy the primary sources of new generation capacity. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's support for coal and nuclear plants could prolong the lifespans of these plants and delay demand for new capacity.

Solar Energy Potential In Disaster-Prone Areas

Solar energy is becoming a more appealing option for countries left in disarray after recent hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Jose; however, there are drawbacks to consider as well. The Caribbean Islands were left without power as nearly 1200 poles were knocked down, while solar installations on the Turks and Caicos islands remained largely intact, showing these may be a more dependable power source for countries prone to natural disasters. The grid-tied solar installation in St. Eustatius could stand Category 4 hurricane strength winds, so it was unscathed by Irma and Maria, said Fred Cuvalay, the utility's chief executive officer. Governor Ricardo Rossello said that he's considering microgrids, but it would cost about $250 million to build 90 megawatts of solar and storage, or enough to power about 15,000 homes. This would probably be impossible for the islands to pay for, especially after costs of damage from the hurricanes. Unfortunately, they are unsure how these initiatives they would like to take would be paid for.

Haiti was able to benefit from using solar panels after damages from Hurricane Irma. Power was restored to all of its customers after less than 10 hours of down time from intense storms, winds, and rainfall.

 “Preparation and planning by our local teams helped ensure that our grids didn’t sustain extensive damage and also enabled us to get power back to our customers so quickly,” Lebowitz, the vice president of power operations said. Rather than chance the solar panels be ruined by the storms, Lebowitz insisted on packing them up safely to ensure their power source remained after the disaster. The 200-kW array was able to be taken down in just four hours. While oftentimes solar panels are able to withstand the heavy winds and rainfall, this extra precaution can be taken to ensure the panels are protected regardless of the storm’s power.

Electric Power Board Energizes Giant Battery As Part of National Research Effort

In Chattanooga, the Electric Power Board recently energized a giant battery as part of the national research to find the best way to make power grids more efficient.

The 100-kilowatt/400-kilowatt-hour vanadium redox battery has been installed alongside EPB’s field of solar power cells as part of a project to determine how a large-scale energy storage unit can be used with a smart grid to keep a consistent flow of energy.

EPB CEO David Wade states, “As it becomes possible to deploy large-scale battery storage throughout our system, I envision a time when we can further reduce the number of our customers impacted by power outages.”

Backers of Solar Energy Want TVA To Do More

The Tennessee Valley Authority has cut carbon emissions from its power plants by 50 percent over the past 30 years and set a goal of reaching a 70 percent decrease in carbon emissions by 2030, but environmental activists want the federal utility to do more.

"I'm disappointed because I'm afraid we're watching TVA's leadership on renewable energy really slip and decline," Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, told the TVA board recently. "A number of us have been active stakeholders in TVA's planning process, and we really value that. But I'm beginning to think this is more of a slow walk-and-talk process as opposed to actually getting to the root causes and working to solve these problems. All of the trend lines for renewable energy seem to be going in the wrong direction."

Bill Johnson, the president of TVA, estimates having the additional capacity to make up for when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine typically adds at least 2 cents per kilowatt-hour to the quoted price of such renewable energy.

"At the moment, we have yet to conclude that [buying power from Clean Line Energy] is the right fit for what we are doing," he said.

TVA Awards Solar Capacity to Local Power Companies

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced today it is awarding 10 megawatts of carbon-free, solar capacity to seven local power companies who applied through TVA’s Distributed Solar Solutions pilot program. When these projects are completed, they will generate enough solar energy to power about 900 homes.

“Distributed Solar Solutions is an important TVA solar program because it brings key stakeholders together to generate clean energy in a thoughtful and collaborative manner that best serves the 9 million people of the Valley,” said Tammy Bramlett, TVA’s director of Business Development and Renewables. This company encourages local power companies and solar developers to work together to create renewable energy projects at the community level.

TVA’s selection committee ultimately chose North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, Volunteer Electric Company, Memphis Light Gas & Water, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, Tullahoma Utilities Authority, Jackson Energy Authority, and Nashville Electric Service to receive the solar capacity. Each of these companies will recieve 10 megawatts of solar energy.

TVA has contracted or installed around 400 megawatts of solar capacity, and currently has more than 1,200 megawatts of wind and over 50 megawatts of biomass. TVA’s renewable program, offered through local power companies, has resulted in over 100 megawatts of renewable capacity, with more than 3,000 systems operating across the region.

Cities that Reap the Co-Benefits of Climate Action

Climate change is a major threat to our planet, but particularly to our cities, in which two thirds of the population is expected to live by 2050. Even as national leaders make the headlines on climate, cities are the places turning big-picture objectives into practical steps forward toward a more sustainable future. In fact, the Trump Administration’s decision in June to withdraw from the Paris Agreement only strengthened the commitment of the world’s biggest cities outside of the United States to lower emissions for a low-carbon future.

This commitment is clear in the new Cities100 report. For the third year in a row, Sustainia, C40, and Realdania have collected the 100 best urban solutions to climate change from cities around the world, and the 2017 edition of Cities100 presents some extraordinary cases of city climate action within the categories of energy, adaptation, transportation, mitigation, and waste. More cities are now acknowledging the social, economic, and environmental benefits of climate action and adaptation. By taking climate action, cities can prepare to diminish future issues associated with climate change, such as overpopulation, air pollution, and extreme weather events, while also saving trillions of dollars on things,such as energy and health.

Rotterdam, Holland is one city taking action against climate change. The city is utilizing rooftops as multifunctional spaces that improve air quality and biodiversity, produce renewable electricity, retain water to prevent flooding, and provide spaces for people to socialize. The city aims to put solar panels on over 100,000 square feet of rooftops, which could generate 1.25 MW of renewable energy, and build another 850,000 square feet of water-resilient roofs, or blue roofs, which can retain over 500,000 gallons of water. With about 5.6 square miles of unused roof space above the city, this is only the beginning.

Hopefully, the United States will adopt similar sustainable practices in the future.