TVA puts Finley in solar power record book

TVA puts Finley in solar power record book

BY DAVE FLESSNER
AND DORIE TURNER
STAFF WRITERS

Rain or shine, Finley Stadium soon will have folks covered. The Tennessee Valley Authority is installing its biggest solar power-generating complex this summer next to Chattanooga's downtown football stadium to help capture the power of the sun. But the solar panels also will be helpful for football fans on rainy autumn nights.

The solar panels being erected on the south side of Finley Stadium will provide covered parking for a newly paved 240-space parking lot along Riverfront Parkway.

"It's a great site," said Gary Harris, manager of TVA's Green Power program. "It's a very visible location from the highway coming into downtown Chattanooga and will allow thousands of persons who go to the stadium to see the solar panels up close and in person. For the stadium, we'll also give them some needed covered parking."

Kris Kennemer, left, and Robbie Olinger, employees of Lawson Electric, construct frames Monday that will hold solar panels being installed in the parking lot of Finley Stadium.

TVA is spending more than $500,000 to pave the parking lot and erect the solar panels, which are projected to generate up to 90 kilowatts of electricity, or enough power to meet the electricity needs of about 50 typical homes when in full production. Even with the "free" power of the sun, the solar panels are more expensive than other TVA power-generating sources.

So far, more than 3,600 TVA customers have agreed to pay higher electric bills to ensure that their power is generated from renewable sources such as the sun or wind. TVA is generating solar power already at nine sites across the valley and also generates "green power" from wind and landfill methane gas.

TVA launched its "Green Power Switch" on Earth Day

The solar project is the biggest of its kind in the Tennessee Valley and one of the larger urban solar power projects in the country.

2000 through a dozen distributors, including EPB in Chattanooga. People making the green power switch may buy blocks of green power in 150 kilowatt-hour bulks by paying an extra $4 a month on their electric bill.

TVA has already sold more than 11,000 of the blocks, or enough to generate over $528,000 in extra revenue annually. TVA also has qualified for federal assistance through the Virginia Alliance for Solar Energy.

In Chattanooga, EPB has yet to promote the green power switch, however. When EPB officials told TVA last month they were ready to begin marketing the renewable energy program, TVA asked EPB to hold up for a while until it is able to bring enough renewable energy on line to meet the unexpectedly strong response from consumers.

"We're ready now to promote the program whenever TVA tells us they are ready," said Ron Fugatt, executive vice president for EPB.

The solar panels at Finley Sta-

TVA Solar Sites
TVA has built photovoltaic systems to generate power from the sun at nine sites so far. TVA's largest solar generation site will open this fall at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.

TVA photovoltaic system sites:

1. Cumberland Science Museum - Nashville
2. Dollywood - Pigeon Forge
3. Gibson County High School - Dyer, Tenn.
4. Ijams Nature Center - Knoxville
5. Cocke County High School - Newport, Tenn.
6. Duffield Primary School - Duffield, Va.
7. Sci-Quest - Huntsville, Ala.
8. American Museum of Science & Energy - Oak Ridge, Tenn.
9. Lover's Leap - Bowling Green, KY
10. Finley Stadium - Chattanooga
    *Scheduled for completion by fall, 2001.

dium and a landfill methane gas facility in Murfreesboro should soon help TVA keep up with consumer demand for green power.

"We hope and expect this program will begin to create a market for even more renewable source generation and thereby help drive down its costs," said Stephen Smith, executive director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Dr. Smith concedes that the 250 kilowatts TVA plans in its first phase of the green power initiative is only a tiny share of TVA's 29,000 megawatts of generation capacity.

"But this is an important start and we think visible sites like the one at Finley Stadium will help encourage people to see the potential of renewable energy and to think more about supporting it," he said.

Finley General Manager Mike Shuford said TVA approached him about the project last summer, promising to pave three of the stadium's parking lots in exchange for use of the space.

"Where before it was just a gravel parking lot, it will be paved," Mr. Shuford said. "It will definitely add to the looks of the area."