TVA Greenlights Massive Solar Farm in Alabama's Backyard
Published Date: 4/8/2026
Notice
Summary
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is moving forward with a big solar project in Colbert County, Alabama, to help meet growing energy needs. They’ll buy power from a new 200-megawatt solar farm covering 740 acres, plus build a substation and upgrade power lines to connect it all. This clean energy boost supports local communities and fits TVA’s plan to provide reliable, greener electricity without using taxpayer money.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
740 acres used, farmland impacts noted
About 740 acres of a 2,426-acre Project Site in Colbert County, Alabama will be used for the solar facility, and the Final EIS notes the Proposed Action could have moderate impacts on prime farmland. After the 20-year PPA ends, the site could be returned to agricultural use with little reduction in soil productivity.
TVA signs 20-year solar power deal
TVA will execute a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy electricity from a new approximately 200-megawatt (MW) AC solar photovoltaic facility that would occupy about 740 acres in Colbert County, Alabama. To connect the plant, Spring Valley Solar will build an onsite 161-kV substation and make transmission-line upgrades so TVA can add this generation to its grid.
Visual and cultural screening required
The project must maintain a minimum 50-foot setback along property lines and a 30-foot-wide native vegetated buffer around the solar facility, and implement specific visual-screening measures near the Belle Mont Mansion (including new plantings and green mesh fence screening). TVA and Spring Valley Solar also agreed to avoid or buffer identified historic and archaeological sites.
Minor local socioeconomic benefits expected
The Final EIS states the Proposed Action would have minor beneficial impacts to socioeconomics in the project area. TVA also notes the project aligns with its 2019 Integrated Resource Plan to expand renewable capacity through 2038.
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