By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tennessee (November 18, 2024) — It’s an outside development that’s been stalled for over a year as local officials worked with Silicon Ranch officials to find common ground on moving forward with a $250 million solar energy project – one of the largest inside the state – in tiny Moore County.

The Metro Board of Zoning Appeals approved the project back in 2021, however, as the project began to move from the planning stage to the construction stage, local officials moved forward cautiously based on the unprecedented nature of the project.

“We want this project to succeed and be a win-win for both Metro and Silicon Ranch,” one official told us. “But our job is to protect the citizens and taxpayers of this county, and so we moved forward with an abundance of caution.”

On Monday, the Metro Council agreed to accept nearly a quarter of a million dollars intended to insure against any unanticipated expenses related to the project. The twelve members present voted unanimously to approve the $650,000 Energy Siting Agreement, which moves the project forward. Another $100,000 will go to the Metro Planning and Zoning Commission in the form of a building permit fee. The remaining $650,000 “community benefit fee” will cover any unforeseen costs that Metro Moore County might experience as a result of construction of the solar farm proposed for land located along Highway 55 near Motlow State Community College. If unused, those funds would go into Metro’s General Fund and could be used to offset other costs like the upcoming, state-mandated teacher minimum salary increase. That minimum will increase from $44,500 to $47,000 per year in 2026 and again to $50,000 in 2027.

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Council voted unanimously to approve

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Silicon Ranch originally announced the project in April 2021. {To read our original coverage of that announcement, click here.) When it’s completed, the 200-megawatt capacity solar farm will be one of the largest operating solar sites in the state.

The solar energy produced will be sold to TVA and distributed by local and regional utilities like Duck River Electric Membership Cooperative (DREMC) to specific buyers including The Jack Daniel Distillery, Metro Nashville Davidson County, the Knoxville Utility District, and the Vanderbilt University system.

Metro officials, Metro Attorney Bill Rieder, Silicon Ranch officials and their legal team met behind closed doors to negotiate the Energy Siting Agreement. It was presented to the Metro Council during a working session the week before the November 18 meeting.

The Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement. Gerald Burnett, Bradley Dye, and Douglas Carson were absent from Monday’s meeting.

In addition to the building permit fee, and community benefit fee, Silicon entered into a separate agreement with the Metro Highway Department to ensure any roads in Moore County damaged during the construction process will be repaired at Silicon Ranch’s expense. Silicon officials will work with Roads Superintendent Shannon Cauble on a pre construction and post-construction evaluation. Cumberland Springs Road and Cobb Hollow Road run around the perimeter of the project but other local roads could also be affected, according to Cauble.

Throughout the process Silicon Ranch expressed its desire to be a good “corporate citizen” and worked to educate locals about solar farms in general and the Moore County project in specific. They hosted a virtual public meeting in May 2022 and a second Q&A session at Moore County High School in September 2022 to address any concerns.

“This agreement reflects how we at Silicon Ranch do business, not only supporting energy infrastructure and promoting economic development, but also collaborating with local leaders to support and help strengthen the communities where we invest,” said Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and CEO Reagan Farr. “Silicon Ranch is honored to support educational initiatives and promote a brighter future for Moore County’s next generation. As the son of educators myself, I am personally grateful for the opportunity to be part of this compelling partnership.”

The agreement enables the Tennessee-based solar energy company to move forward with its plans to construct the energy infrastructure project on approximately 3,400 acres it purchased in Moore County in 2022. The next steps for the solar farm will be to reappear before the Metro Planning Commission to obtain approval for a substation site plan.

That meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the basement of the County Building. To be added to the agenda during the public comment period, contact the Metro Codes office at (931) 759-7068. •

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