Florence Water Treatment Facility Becomes TVA Green Power Site
November 25, 2002
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Florence Water Treatment Facility is the site of one of TVA’s newest sources of renewable energy. The electricity generated at the site is available to customers of four Shoals area utilities under the Green Power Switch® program.
A canopy of solar electric cells began producing electricity at the city facility in late summer. The solar array generates about 53,480 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year — enough to supply up to four homes — using 216 photovoltaic modules mounted on a canopy in the parking lot.
“The Florence solar site joins a network of 13 others around the Tennessee Valley that are turning sunlight into clean, renewable energy for the people of the Shoals and the entire region,” TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough Jr. said today. “The Green Power Switch program demonstrates how TVA, our distributor partners, and the environmental community can work together to use cutting-edge renewable energy technology to produce electricity.”
McCullough and representatives from Florence Utilities, Sheffield Utilities, Muscle Shoals Electric Board, and the Tuscumbia Electricity Department participated in a dedication ceremony today at the solar generation site at 601 South Cox Creek Parkway.
Electricity generated by the solar modules goes into the City of Florence Utilities distribution system and into the TVA power grid. The City of Florence Utilities, Muscle Shoals Electric Board, Sheffield Utilities and Tuscumbia Electric Department are currently offering Green Power Switch to their customers.
The Green Power Switch program allows residential and commercial customers to purchase power generated from renewable energy sources—wind, sun, and methane gas. Electricity generated by photovoltaic systems uses modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity. The photovoltaic cells are connected in the form of flat panels that can be mounted on rooftops or canopies or integrated into roofing shingles and other building materials.
Green Power Switch is sold to more than 5,900 residential customers and more than 300 business customers throughout the Tennessee Valley. A total of 48 power distributors in the TVA service area are offering the renewable energy option to customers of TVA power.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power producer, and its power system is self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Terry Johnson, Muscle Shoals, AL (256-386-3076), Lucha Ramey, Knoxville (865-632-8385), or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
