DEKALB COUNTY, Tenn. - A Murfreesboro-based company is working to expand its impact across Middle Tennessee through solar power. GreenWave Solar installs and constructs solar energy systems for residential, commercial and larger utility-scale customers, ranging from rooftop panels to larger solar operations designed to help supply power to the grid. Photo above and below article from Greenwave Solar.
In nearby DeKalb County, GreenWave Solar is moving forward with plans for a solar farm in Smithville. Earlier this month, the Smithville Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a special exception request that would allow the company to place a 16,000-panel solar farm on about 35 acres of a larger 100-acre tract. The property is located partly inside and partly outside the city limits between Allen’s Ferry Road and the TVA substation on West Main Street, near the DeKalb County High School campus. The project is also expected to be reviewed by the Smithville Municipal Planning Commission.
GreenWave Solar owner Landon Cason told Smithville BZA members that the project is a joint effort involving GreenWave, TVA, Smithville Electric System and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative. He said TVA’s flexibility program allows local power companies to develop their own sources of power, and the two utilities reached out in search of a lower-cost energy source. Cason said the site was identified because of its proximity to the substation, which is shared by Smithville Electric and Caney Fork Electric.
Although GreenWave acquired roughly 100 acres, Cason said only about 35 to 40 acres are expected to be used for the solar project. The remaining land could be sold or leased for farming. He said the solar panels would be fixed in place, raised a few feet off the ground and built to collect solar energy daily without creating noise. Cason also emphasized that the project is not tied to any data center development and is intended to provide power for the local community through Smithville Electric System and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative.
GreenWave Solar has also completed projects elsewhere in Middle Tennessee. In Manchester, the company installed a large rooftop solar panel system for Common John Brewing Company, a locally owned brewery that uses solar power to help brew its craft beer. Earlier this year, Common John completed its rooftop solar project with help from Murfreesboro-based GreenWave. The brewery recently reported that its solar collection system has generated about 95% of the energy used at the facility. Common John is known for using solar power, battery storage and high-voltage electric thermal elements inside its kettles to help boil and brew beer while reducing reliance on the conventional electric utility grid.
