Muscle Shoals solar project in Alabama officially online for Facebook data center

Ørsted has completed the 294-MW_DC/227-MW_AC Muscle Shoals solar PV project in Colbert County, Alabama. Located in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) service area, the project has a long-term PPA with TVA. This new project will support the sustainability goals of Facebook’s data center in Huntsville, Alabama, that just started operations.

“We’re very excited to add to our high-quality, diverse customer base through this long-term partnership with TVA and Facebook,” says Vishal Kapadia, Chief Commercial Officer of Ørsted’s Onshore business. “The acquisition and completion of Muscle Shoals represents the continued successful execution of our expansion strategy in which we seek to complement our core market greenfield development activities with opportunistic acquisitions in new markets to diversify our portfolio.”

“This solar farm is a historic moment in TVA history,” said Doug Perry, Senior Vice President, TVA Commercial Energy Solutions. “It’s the first Green Invest project to come online, and it demonstrates the value of TVA’s focus on cleaner energy. Green Invest is helping us build the clean, low-cost energy system of the future that’s essential to achieving our environmental goals and competing for jobs in the new clean economy.”

With a variety of initiatives, including long-term customer partnerships for Green Invest projects, the TVA plans to reduce its carbon emissions to 70% by 2030, 80% by 2035, and to achieve net-zero emission generation by 2050.

Ørsted acquired Muscle Shoals in 2020 from Longroad Energy and has 1.4 GW of solar and storage capacity in operation and under construction. The company is a leader in global wind construction.

News item from Ørsted

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Original Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/09/muscle-shoals-solar-project-in-alabama-officially-online-for-facebook-data-center/