CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville City Council approved an option-to-purchase agreement on Thursday with solar energy provider Silicon Ranch, who seeks to buy from the city land currently designated for an athletic complex near Exit 8.
If Silicon Ranch exercises their right to purchase, the sale would include approximately 142 acres of the 300 acres purchased by the city for a new athletic complex. The company would pay $10,000 for the first one-year option, with two additional years for $20,000 and $30,000 respectively. Should they decide to purchase the land, Silicon Ranch will pay $3.25 million.
According to city spokesperson Richard Stevens, those funds would primarily be used to advance the Exit 8 athletic complex on the rest of the property.
Council members voted unanimously in favor of the agreement, though Ward 8 council member Wanda Allen was absent from the meeting.
Green energy at half the price
Silicon Ranch seeks to open a 15-megawatt solar facility in Clarksville, with their primary client being the Clarksville Department of Electricity (CDE).
While local power companies like CDE are typically required to purchase electricity from TVA, TVA’s green sustainable energy program would allow them to purchase power from other companies so long as those companies use a green, sustainable source such as solar.
The partnership allows CDE to buy up to 15 megawatts of power from the solar provider, Stevens said. That amount of power would provide 56 percent of the electricity needed for City of Clarksville government buildings, streetlights and other facilities.
CDE General Manager Brain Taylor briefed City Council members on the potential partnership in April, when he said Silicon Ranch would sell power to the city for half the price of TVA. The reduced cost is expected to be used by CDE for infrastructure improvements and to push back future rate increases.
“It not only meets some of the goals that we have, but it broadcasts to the world that we are in the business of buying our own power, or buying through a green source,” Mayor Joe Pitts told Clarksville Now in a previous statement.
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly said the partnership could allow up to 60% of Clarksville’s electricity to come from a green source. The partnership allows CDE to buy 15 megawatts from the solar provider. TVA claims that 59 percent of its generated power already comes from carbon free, or green, sources such as nuclear and hydoeclectric. The article has been updated.